UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFOEHR 
DAVIS 


THE 

YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL : 

DETAILING  THE 

MANIPULATIONS    OF    THE    FARM    IN    A    PLAIN 
AND    INTELLIGIBLE    MANNER. 

WITH   PRACTICAL   DIRECTIONS   FOR 

LAYING  OUT  A  FARM,  AND  ERECTING  BUILDINGS,  FENCES,  AND  FARM  GATEa 

EMBRACING  ALSO 

THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  WORKSHOP: 

GIVING 


FULL  DIRECTIONS   FOE  THE   SELECTION   OF   GOOO  FARM   AND   SHOP   TOOLS,  THEIR   USE  AND 

MANUFACTURE,    WITH   NUMEROUS   ORIGINAL   ILLUSTRATIONS   OF    FENCES,   GATES, 

TOOLS,    ETC.,   AND   FOR   PERFORMING    NEARLY   EVERY  BRANCH   OF 

FARMING   OPERATIONS. 


BY  S.   EDWARDS    TODD. 


NEW  YORK: 

0.  M.  SAXTON,  BARKER  &  COMPANY. 

No.  25  PARK    ROW. 

1860. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1860,  by 

S.    EDWARDS    TODD, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the  Northern  District 
of  New  York. 


EDWARD  O.  JENKINS, 

Printer  and  Stereotyper, 

No.  26  FRANKFORT  STREET. 


PREFACE. 


"  A  useful  book  may  live  from  age  to  age, 
And  those  unborn  may  read  its  printed  page." — J.  W.  BARBER. 


THE  chief  object  of  this  little  volume  is,  to  instruct  the  young 
farmer  how  to  perform  the  various  operations  of  the  farm  in  a 
skillful,  economical,  and  workmanlike  manner.  From  my  early 
boyhood  I  have  been  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and 
I  have  always  experienced  a  very  great  disadvantage  and  incon 
venience  in  not  having  a  text-book  to  assist  me  in  putting  tools 
and  agricultural  implements  in  proper  order,  and  in  handling 
them  with  skill  and  dexterity.  Knowing  well  what  difficulties 
and  embarrassments  a  young  farmer  is  sure  to  meet  with,  and 
understanding  what  instructions  he  will  be  most  likely  to  need,  it 
has  been  my  aim  to  supply  that  knowledge  which  has  for  so  long 
a  time  been  called  for  by  the  young  farmers  of  America.  I  have 
not  written  for  farmers  of  mature  age  and  long  experience,  to 
whom  the  contents  of  most  of  these  paragraphs  may  appear  too 
common-place,  but  for  the  sons  of  farmers,  and  those  who  are 
leaving  the  merchants'  counters  and  the  mechanics'  shops  to  en 
gage  practically  in  that  honest,  honorable,  and  noble  calling — the 
cultivation  of  the  soil. 

I  have  come  directly  from  the  farmer's  workshop,  from  the 

(8) 


iv  PREFACE. 

stercorary,  from  the  ditch,  and  from  following  the  plow,  with  tow- 
frock,  and  overalls,  and  India-rubber  boots  on,  all  bespattered 
with  mud,  with  callous  hands  and  stiff  fingers,  to  show  young 
farmers  how  to  work. 

Most  writers  on  agricultural  subjects  have  appeared  to  take  it 
for  granted,  that  every  one  already  understands  the  practical 
operations  in  the  various  branches  of  business  connected  with 
the  farm  (see  "  Introduction")  ;  therefore  we  have  no  elementary 
works  in  our  agricultural  libraries,  and  when  young  men  com 
mence  practically  in  any  branch  of  farming  operations,  they  are 
at  a  great  loss  how  to  perform,  in  a  workmanlike  manner,  many 
of  the  most  common  operations  of  the  farm  without  an  expe 
rienced  foreman. 

It  has  been  my  aim  to  lay  down  most  reliable  directions  in  all 
my  details ;  and  the  young  farmer  can  carry  this  volume  into  his 
workshop  or  into  the  field,  and  learn  from  its  pages  how  to  per 
form  every  job  in  a  workmanlike,  easy,  and  most  expeditious 
manner. 

I  have  endeavored  to  make  use  of  simple  and  intelligible  lan 
guage,  which  none  can  fail  to  understand  ;  and  have  numbered 
the  paragraphs,  so  that  when  reference  is  made  to  a  subject  the 
reader  may  be  able  to  turn  at  once  to  the  paragraph,  which  will 
explain  more  particularly  what  he  may  desire  to  know. 

My  manner  of  writing  it  has  been  to  pen  my  own  ideas,  and 
then  on  any  subject  which  might  not  seem  very  clear,  to  confer 
with  such  experienced  and  skillful  farmers  as  Hon.  David  Crocker 
and  Deacon  Isaac  Bower,  who  are  known  to  be  thorough-going 
farmers  and  producers  of  neat  cattle,  and  to  whose  inspection  I 
submitted  my  MS.  for  criticism. 

In  regard  to  tools,  and  especially  edged  tools,  I  have  conferred 


PEEFACE.  V 

with  many  of  our  best  mechanics,  and  I  have  not,  as  yet,  been 
able  to  detect  anything  in  this  work  which  does  not  coincide  with 
the  most  approved  views  and  practices  for  manufacturing  and 
for  putting  tools  in  order. 

The  figures  of  tools  and  implements  have  been  drawn  with  my 
own  pencil,  and  I  have  penned  nothing  which  has  not  been  well 
tested,  and  have  introduced  no  tools,  or  implements,  which  can 
be  considered  of  doubtful  utility.  The  reader  will  find  about 
every  tool  which  is  represented  in  the  following  pages — and 
scores  of  others  also — in  my  possession,  which  are  in  prime  order. 

The  chapter  on  fencing  and  fence  tools,  a  portion  of  which  has 
been  re-written,  was  published  in  the  volume  of  Trans,  of  the 
N.  Y.  State  Agricultural  Society  for  1858 ;  and  it  is  a  source  of 
great  chagrin  to  me  that  I  did  not  have  the  proof-sheets  in  time 
to  correct  the  numerous  typographical  errors,  and  to  place  some 
of  the  cuts  right  side  up,  and  others  in  their  appropriate  places. 
Some  of  them  were  placed  on  the  side,  and  some  topsy  turvy, 
while  several  of  them,  instead  of  being  inserted  where  they  were 
described,  under  their  appropriate  heads,  were  placed  in  another 
part  of  the  chapter,  where  they  were  simply  alluded  to.  /  grin 
and  bear  it  as  well  as  any  one  ought  to.  Some  of  the  cuts  were 
not  engraved  like  the  original  drawings,  and  have  since  been  re- 
engraved. 

Reference  is  frequently  made  to  subjects  in  another  volume, 
which  will  follow  this  in  a  succession  of  paragraphs  and  illustra 
tions,  which  will  relate  more  particularly  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil  and  raising  crops. 

There  are  ten  ways  of  performing  most  of  the  operations  of 
the  farm  ;  there  is  a  right  way,  and  a  wrong  way  ;  an  easy  way, 
and  a  hard  or  very  laborious  way  ;  a  skillful,  and  an  awkward 


Vi  PREFACE. 

way  ;  a  neat,  and  a  slovenly  way  ;  and  an  economical,  and  a  very 
expensive  way.  As  a  general  rule,  tyros,  and,  many  times,  "  oZc? 
ww,"  too,  are  very  liable  to  perform  every  job  and  handle  every 
tool  in  one  of  these  sinister  ways. 

Now,  one  laudable  object  in  this  treatise  is,  to  furnish  plain 
directions,  which,  with  the  exercise  of  a  little  skill  and  com 
mon  sense,  will  turn  our  awkward,  unskillful  farmer-boys  into 
skillful,  neat,  and  economical  farmers. 

A  copiotls  index  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  volume,  by 
which  the  reader  will  be  able  to  turn  without  any  difficulty  to 
any  subject,  or  cut  of  tool  or  implement.  The  first  column  of 
figures  refers  to  the  paragraphs  in  which  whatever  is  referred  to 
may  be  found  ;  and  the  second  column  refers  to  the  page  of  the 
book.  Reference  is  frequently  made  to  paragraphs,  in  different 
parts  of  this  book,  where  the  subject  under  consideration  is  more 
fully  explained,  which  should  be  looked  out  when  reading. 

Stimulated  by  an  ardent  desire  to  give  an  efficient  and  skillful 
direction  to  the  energies  of  the  young  American  farmer,  and  ele 
vate  him  to  that  high  and  noble  standing  which  the  Creator 
designed  for  him,  I  send  forth  this  volume,  hoping  that  my 
labors  of  love  will  be  appreciated,  not  only  by  my  contempora 
ries,  but  by  thousands  yet  unborn,  when  I  am  sleeping  in  the 
dust.  S.  E.  T. 

LAKE  RIDGE,  TOMPKINS  Co.,  N.  Y.,  1860. 


INTRODUCTION. 


"  The  sounds  of  active  industry 

I  love — I  love  them  all : 

The  banging  of  the  hammer,  the  whirring  of  the  plane, 
The  crashing  of  the  busy  saw,  the  creaking  of  the  crane." — ANON. 

THE  age  has  passed  in  which  the  hard-fisted  cultivator  of  the 
soil  was  looked  upon  as  an  illiterate  plebeian,  and  the  last  beams 
of  its  twilight  are  dancing  about  us.  Our  worthy  grandfathers 
taught  their  sons  that,  if  they  were  able  to  read,  intelligibly,  the 
Bible  and  the  "  Babes  in  the  Woods,"  which  usually  constituted 
their  library,  and  could  write  a  legible  hand,  and  keep  their  debit 
and  credit  so  that  no  one  could  cheat  them,  they  would  have  all 
the  education  that  would  ever  be  of  any  practical  advantage  to 
them  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Our  fathers  allowed  us  to  exceed 
the  boundaries  which  restrained  them,  and  permitted  us  to  look 
into  geography,  natural  philosophy,  a,nd  chemistry,  as  applied  to 
agriculture  ;  and,  after  long  importunity,  allowed  us  to  lay  aside 
those  old  Bull  Plows,  with  wooden  mold-boards,  and  those  clumsy, 
awkward,  heavy,  ill-shapen  tools,  for  those  which  had  been  manu 
factured  of  better  materials,- and  of  forms  more  in  accordance 
with  the  most  approved  mechanical  and  philosophical  principles. 
Our  forefathers  were  taught,  and  they  inculcated  the  same  pre 
cept,  that  if  a  boy  or  man  happened  to  be  so  unaccountably 
stupid  that  he  would  not  be  likely  to  make  a  successful  doctor,  or 
lawyer,  or  merchant,  or  mechanic,  he  must  be  a  farmer ;  but  we 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

have  manfully  broken  off  this  tyrannical  yoke  of  "old  fogy"  con 
ventionalism,  and  teach  our  sons  that  we  need  the  most  active, 
promising,  intelligent,  and  skillful  men  and  boys,  for  farmers  ;  and 
if  a  boy  happens  to  be  deficient  in  the  attic  story,  he  must  learn 
a  trade,  and  be  a  mechanic.  Our  forefathers  brought  up  their 
sons  to  feel  that  farmers  belonged  to  an  inferior  caste  ;  and  many 
of  our  fathers  and  fastidious  mothers  taught  their  children,  that 
manual  labor  was  dishonorable  and  degrading,  and  that,  in  order 
to  be  respected  in  the  world,  they  must  have  a  situation  behind 
the  merchant's  counter,  or  study  theology,  or  jurisprudence.  But 
we,  at  the  present  day,  teach  those  under  our  care,  that  there  is 
a  no  more  honorable,  nor  respectable,  nor  honest  livelihood,  than 
that  of  cultivating  the  soil,  and  its  kindred  arts  and  sciences. 
And  we  teach  them  also,  that,  in  order  to  be  a  thorough-going, 
energetic,  and  successful  farmer,  a  man  must  be  educated  ;  that  he 
must  have  a  good  smattering  of  agricultural  chemistry,  natural 
philosophy,  geology,  mineralogy,  botany,  and  a  good  peep  into 
vegetable  physiology,  and  arithmetic  and  geometry,  &c. ;  and 
must  have  a  good  understanding,  also,  of  the  manufacture  of 
agricultural  implements,  according  to  the  most  convenient  and 
approved  form  and  weight ;  and  must  know  how  to  handle  them 
with  skill  and  dexterity.  Therefore, 

A  FARMER  MUST  BE  A  MAN  OF  THOUGHT  AND  INVESTIGATION. 

No  man  can  reasonably  expect  to  succeed  in  the  thorough 
cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  raise  good  crops  on  his  farm  from  year 
to  year,  as  long  as  he  lives,  and  not  :mpoverish  it,  but  leave  it  in 
as  good,  or  even  a  better  state  of  fertility  at  the  end  of  his  days, 
unless  he  is  a  man  of  thought,  accustomed  to  devise  the  best  and 
most  practicable  arrangements  and  systems  of  management,  not 
only  for  producing,  but  for  consuming  the  productions  of  the  farm. 
(See  How  TO  MAKE  A  GOOD  FARM  BETTER,  in  next  vol.)  He 
must  not  always  be  "  whistling  along  for  want  of  thought,"  but 
he  must  think  beforehand — not  a  year  afterwards — what  he  can 
do  practically  to  bring  all  his  practices  and  farming  operations  to 
a  greater  degree  of  perfection  for  the  year  to  come,  than  they  were 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

the  past  season.  He  must  make  note  of  his  failures  in  every 
operation,  and  endeavor  to  have  everything  performed  in  the  most 
seasonable  time,  and  in  the  most  economical  and  farmer-like  man 
ner.  And' 

A   FAEMER    MUST    BE    A    LABORING   MAN. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  great  water,  the  landlord,  the  farmer, 
and  the  laborer,  exist  in  three  distinct  personages  ;  but  in  America, 
for  the  most  part,  these  three  are  united  in  one.  The  most  suc 
cessful  cultivators  of  the  soil  in  America,  whose  opinions  on 
agricultural  subjects  and  whose  practices  are  eagerly  sought,  and 
widely  disseminated  and  adopted,  are  most  generally  men  who 
are  not  ashamed  nor  mortified  to  be  seen  in  a  ditch,  with  a  tow 
frock  on,  or  holding  the  plow,  or  swinging  the  cradle.  Reason 
and  experience  teach  us  that  manual  labor  is  by  no  means  incom 
patible  with  the  growth  and  vigor  of  our  intellects.  Philosophy 
and  long  experience  have  furnished  us  with  the  most  indubitable 
demonstration  that  active,  energetic,  manual  employment,  imparts 
vigor  to  the  corporeal  system,  and  that  vigor  of  the  body  invigor 
ates  the  brain.  Our  systems  are  so  constituted,  that  while  our 
hands  are  engaged  in  manual  operations,  the  head  and  the  heart 
may  be  led  on  to  knowledge.  It  injures  no  one  to  labor  with 
his  hands ;  and,  although  we  were  doomed  to  toil  by  the  Creator, 
(G-en.  3:  19,)  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  temporal  blessings,  in 
disguise,  which  mortals  are  permitted  to  enjoy.  If  a  farmer's 
business  should  be  so  extensive  that  all  his  time  is  consumed  in 
planning  and  in  superintending,  or  if  he  is  able  to  glide  along 
through  the  >vorld  passively,  still  he  ought  to  have  a  good  under 
standing  of  manual  operations,  so  as  to  be  able  to  instruct  those 
in  his  employ  how  to  handle  their  tools  with  skill  and  efficiency. 
No  man  ever  shortened  his  days  by  energetic,  manual  labor, 
alone  ;  but  lad  habits  have  sent  thousands  to  an  untimely  grave, 
whose  demise  was  attributed  to  "  hard  work."  Intellectual  culture 
and  manual  labor  must  go  hand  in  hand.  The  time  is  fast  hasten 
ing  on,  when  the  hands  of  hard-fisted  industry  will  sway  the 
destiny  of  the  world. 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

A  FARMER  SHOULD  BE  A  GOOD  MECHANIC, 

theoretically,  if  he  is  not  practically.  There  are  so  many  branches 
of  mechanical  operations  connected  with  farming,  such  as  making 
farm  gates,  and  fences,  harrows,  field-rollers,  and  tools  of  every 
description,  and  repairing  old  ones,  and  putting  edge  tools 
in  order,  and  such  like,  that  he  who  must  necessarily  depend 
entirely  on  some  one  else  to  perform  every  little  job,  cannot 
expect  to  succeed  in  farming  operations  like  him  who  will  accus 
tom  himself  to  handle  mechanical  tools  with  dexterity.  More 
than  one-half  of  our  country  mechanics,  who  work  at  their  trade 
for  a  livelihood,  are  incompetent  to  perform  a  difficult  job,  in  a 
neat  and  workmanlike  manner,  without  a  foreman.  For  this 
reason,  if  for  no  other,  a  farmer  should  be  a  good  mechanic,  in 
order  to  give  proper  directions  how  a  piece  of  work  should  be 
performed,  or  whether  or  not  it  is  perfect  or  faulty  after  it  is 
finished. 

A    FARMER    SHOULD    BE    A    MACHINIST. 

Now  that  so  many  new  machines  are  being  manufactured  and 
introduced  for  performing  the  labors  of  the  farm,  a  farmer  needs 
the  skill  and  discernment  of  an  ingenious  machinist,  in  order  to 
understand  whether  a  machine  has  been  manufactured  according 
to  the  most  approved  mechanical  principles  or  not,  and  to  detect 
at  a  glance  any  imperfection  in  its  construction  (see  FITTING  UP 
MACHINERY,  in  the  next  vol.) ;  and  in  case  a  machine  fails  in  con 
sequence  of  little  imperfections  in  its  manufacture,  to  be  able  to 
repair  it  himself,  or  to  direct  another  to  do  it,  in  a  workmanlike 
manner. 

A  FARMER  SHOULD  BE  A  GOOD  ENGINEER. 

Agriculture  now  is  ranked  among  the  arts  and  sciences  of  the 
first  order.  Indeed,  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  has  been  not  im 
properly  styled  the  "  mother  of  arts."  Perhaps  in  no  other  single 
art  and  science  can  there  be  found  such  a  variety  of  simple  and 
complex,  cheap  and  expensive,  tools  and  implements,  as  in  agri 
culture.  Consequently,  in  order  to  be  able  to  work,  or  manage, 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

or  handle  with  skill  and  efficiency,  such  a  variety  of  implements 
and  tools,  a  man  needs  an  eye  like  a  serpent,  an  ear  like  a  roe, 
the  perception  of  an  elephant,  and  the  skill  and  acumen  of  a 
honey-bee.  He  needs  to  have  a  good  knowledge  of  the  strength 
of  materials — which  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  successful 
engineering — that  he  may  be  able  to  determine,  without  hesi 
tancy,  whether  the  various  parts  of  a  tool  are  of  the  correct  pro 
portion,  (see  next  vol.,)  or  *  whether  one  part  of  a  machine  is 
made  four  times  lighter,  or  heavier,  as  the  case  may  be,  than  is 
required,  or  is  necessary.  It  is  important  for  him  to  know 
whether,  in  erecting  buildings,  the  stress  on  the  different  parts  is 
so  great,  or  so  small,  as  to  need  a  timber  one  foot  square,  or  six 
inches  square.  He  should  have  a  perception  so  acute  when  run 
ning  any  kind  of  machinery  as  to  determine,  in  an  instant,  by 
the  sound  and  clatter,  whether  the  motion  is  too  high  or  too  low, 
or  uniform,  or  variable,  or  when  anything  is  not  in  complete  run 
ning  order.  He  should  be  able  to  tell  whether  he  is  hauling 
with  his  team  a  number  of  hundred  pounds  of  redundant  mate 
rial  in  a  given  machine  ;  and  whether  his  team  moves,  or  the 
parts  of  machinery  run,  at  the  most  effective  velocity  or  not. 
(See  VELOCITY  OF  SAWS.)  A  farmer  should  understand  well  the 
principles  of  draught,  (see  next  vol.,)  that  he  may  not  break  his 
tools  unnecessarily,  nor  use  up  the  energies  of  his  team  to  no 
good  purpose.  These  are  but  a  very  few  of  the  qualifications 
which  ought  to  be  prominent  characteristics  of  every  successful 
cultivator  of  the  soil ;  and  besides  these,  it  is  of  primary  im 
portance  that  a  farmer  should  understand,  well, 

THE  PROPER  APPROPRIATION  OF  THE  FORCES  OF  THE  FARM. 

"  The  prudent  foreman  now,  with  timely  care, 
Forecasts  his  labors  ;  gives  to  each  his  share, 
No  force  is  misapplied  ;  he  keeps  in  view 
The  faithful,  trusty,  and  the  idle,  too, 
With  plans  well  formed  for  every  future  day, 
His  forces  execute  without  delay," — EDWARDS, 

Why  does  one  farmer  often  accomplish  as  much,  or  even  more 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

labor  with  two  workmen,  than  his  neighbor  does  with  four  labor 
ers  of  equal  strength  ?  Why  do  the  operations  on  one  farm  move 
on  most  effectively  in  every  respect,  without  any  hurry,  or  blus 
ter,  or  fretting,  or  worrying  of  teams,  while  on  the  next  farm  all 
is  hurry  and  excitement,  and  but  little  work  done  ?  The  answers 
to  these  interrogations  may  all  be  expressed  in  few  words,  which 
cannot  be  gainsay ed:  A  want  of  wise  plans,  and  an  improper 
appropriation  of  the  forces  of  the  farm. 

Every  farmer,  in  order  to  be  successful,  must  have  well-digested 
plans  for  performing  every  operation  connected  with  his  business. 
He  can  never  hope  to  be  successful  who  goes  to  work  at  random. 
A  successful  farmer  will  be  a  thinking  man  ;  and  all  his  plans  will 
be  so  harmonious,  that  little,  if  any,  of  his  available  force  will  be 
improperly  appropriated,  under  any  circumstances.  He  will  never 
send  two  laborers  to  perform  a  little  job  which  one  can  do  in 
about  the  same  period  of  time.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  multi 
tudes  of  pretty  good  farmers  are  most  stupendously  deficient  on 
this  point ;  and  it  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  to  see  them  employ 
two,  three,  and  even  four  laborers  to  do  what  one  hand  could  per 
form  very  advantageously.  There  are  very  many  operations  on 
the  farm  which  one  hand  cannot  do  to  any  good  advantage ;  but 
when  one  man  can  perform  a  given  piece  of  work  alone  by  work 
ing  four  times  as  long  as  it  would  require  four  men  to  do  it,  as  a 
general  rule,  in  practice,  it  will  be  found  to  be  most  economical, 
on  the  score  of  expense,  to  employ  but  one  hand  at  such  a  job. 
It  cannot  be  expected  that  uninterested  laborers  will  care  but 
little  how  many  of  them  are  sent  by  their  employer  to  perform  a 
given  job ;  therefore  the  skillful  and  successful  farmer,  whether 
he  is  a  tyro  or  not,  should  always  think  a  moment,  whether  more 
than  one  hand  is  really  needed,  and  whether  one  will  not  perform 
a  certain  job  about  as  quickly  as  two  will  do  it. 

The  practice  of  some  farmers  always  is,  if  there  is  a  job  or  two 
of  labor  at  a  distant  part  of  the  farm  which  one  hand  could  do  iu 
an  hour  or  so  most  advantageously,  to  send  three  or  four  to  do  it, 
thinking  that  if  one  man  can  do  it  in  two  hours,  two  men  will  be 
able  to  do  it  in  one  hour ;  and  four  men  can  do  it  in  half  an  hour. 


INTEODUCTION.  19 

Did  such  reasoning  hold  good,  there  would  be  a  loss  of  time  by- 
sending  four  hands.  Suppose,  for  instance,  the  work  is  so  far 
distant  as  to  occupy  ten  minutes  in  going  to  it  and  ten  minutes  in 
returning.  Now  one  laborer  will  go  and  do  the  job  in  two  hours 
and  twenty  minutes,  or  in  one  hundred  and  forty  minutes,  when 
he  will  be  ready  for  another  job.  But  if  four  men  are  employed, 
each  one  consumes  twenty  minutes  in  going  to  and  returning  from 
the  job,  which  will  consume  one  hundred  and  ten  minutes,  pro 
viding  they  perform  the  job  in  thirty  minutes.  With  good  faith 
ful  laborers,  those  who  will  work  faithfully  when  alone,  there  is 
almost  always  a  loss  of  time,  in  proportion  to  the  number  em 
ployed.  There  will  be  some  waiting,  one  for  another,  which 
cannot  conveniently  be  avoided.  And  more  than  all,  when  a  lot 
of  men  work  together,  it  often  seems  at  first  sight  that  they  are 
driving  the  job  with  great  rapidity,  when,  if  the  labor  performed 
were  divided  up  into  plots,  so  that  each  could  see  exactly  how 
much  he  had  accomplished,  they  would  all  be  ashamed  that  they 
had  done  so  little.  But  it  is  much  the  wisest  policy,  many  times, 
to  have  a  lot  of  hands  work  together,  because  some  men  do  not 
like  to  work  alone,  and  they  cannot  work  alone  ;  and  if  set  to 
work  alone,  they  cannot  work,  and  they  will  not  try.  This  is  a 
weakness  not  uncommon  to  many  pretty  active  men.  They  need 
the  little  stimulus  of  example;  and  many  times,  men  who  are 
good  for  nothing  when  alone  will  accomplish  a  large  day's  work 
if  they  can  have  only  the  company  of  another  individual,  whether 
he  is  an  associate  laborer  or  not.  On  this  point  the  tyro  must 
exercise  all  possible  acumen;  and  if  it  is  his  misfortune  to  have 
in  his  employ  a  laborer  not  unlike  the  one  just  alluded  to,  he 
should  have  every  plan  wisely  laid  beforehand,  so  that  when  his 
workmen  have  finished  one  job,  he  will  be  ready  to  give  orders, 
with  promptness,  who  shall  go  to  this  piece  of  work,  and  who 
shall  do  that.  There  will  be  time  enough  consumed  in  going  to 
and  returning  from  labor  on  a  large  farm,  when  the  plans  are  ever 
so  well  laid  ;  but  unless  some  forethought  is  exercised  little  will  be 
accomplished. 

It  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  on  some  farms  to  see  two  men 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

sent  to  get  one  team,  and  go  half  a  mile  or  more  to  get  a  load  of 
rails,  or  wood,  or  stone,  or  such  like.  We  will  grant  that  they 
may  work  advantageously  in  loading  and  unloading ;  but  if  it 
consumes  twenty  minutes  in  going  to,  and  twenty  more  in  return 
ing  from  their  work,  there  is  a  loss  of  forty  minutes  with  one  la 
borer,  which  might  have  probably  been  appropriated  to  some 
good  purpose.  Now  let  forty  minutes  be  taken  from  every  two 
hours  during  the  entire  day,  and  one  third  of  his  time  will  amount 
to  nothing.  Allowing  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  for  one  man  to 
put  on  a  load  of  rails,  or  of  wood,  if  two  were  able  to  do  it  in 
half  that  time,  there  would  be  a  waste  of  time.  In  hauling  dirt, 
gravel,  peat,  muck,  or  manure,  two  men,  and  many  times  three, 
are  sent  with  one  team  and  one  cart,  or  wagon,  to  haul  such  sub 
stances  the  distance  of  one  fourth  of  a  mile,  or  even  more.  Sup 
pose,  after  loading,  it  requires  only  five  minutes  to  drive  to  the 
place  for  unloading,  and  five  minutes  to  return.  If  two  laborers 
are  employed,  and  both  go  to  unload,  there  will  be  a  loss  of 
time  of  one  man,  of  ten  minutes  each  load ;  amounting  to  more 
than  two  hours  lost  time  during  the  working  hours  of  one 
day. 

In  mowing  grass  with  scythes,  or  cradling  grain,  one  man 
usually,  especially  if  he  will  work  alone,  will  cut  more  than  half 
as  much  as  two  ;  and  as  the  number  of  hands  are  increased  in 
one  company  at  such  work,  the  less  labor  will  be  performed  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  workmen  employed.  Why  ?  Be 
cause  even  when  they  are  all  faithful  as  possible,  there  will  of 
necessity  be  a  vast  amount  of  waiting  one  for  another.  Suppose, 
for  instance,  there  are  five  mowers,  or  cradlers.  It  will  usually 
be  seen  that  one  who  sets  in  first  will  work  one  or  two  minutes 
before  there  will  be  an  opportunity  for  the  last  one  to  commence. 
Now,  they  will  all  work  fifteen  or  twenty  rods,  and  perhaps  not 
half  that  distance,  when  there  will  be  another  halt  until  all  come 
up  evi-n,  when  the  scythes  must  be  whet.  Then  there  is  a  delay 
of  one  for  the  other  all  day  ;  and  it  many  times  will  amount  to 
more  than  the  working  hours  of  one  man  in  one  day.  And, 
besides,  the  labor  performed  will  be  most  astonishingly  less,  in 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

proportion  to  the  number  of  hands  employed,  than  if  one  or  two 
laborers  only  worked  together.  And,  furthermore,  when  a  lot 
of  hands  are  mowing,  or  cradling  together,  each  one  is  prompted, 
by  the  recital  of  some  nonsensical  story  or  startling  adventure, 
to  relate  something  similar,  in  order  to  disclose  his  own  indomi 
table  perseverance,  or  prowess,  or  magnanimity  :  and  if  there  be 
half  a  score,  all  must  wait  to  hear  it.  The  true  remedy  is,  to  set 
a  few  hands  at  work  in  one  field,  and  a  few  in  another  field, — 
when  there  will  usually  be  a  little  ambition  on  the  part  of  faith 
ful  workmen  to  perform  quite  as  much,  or  a  little  more,  and  a 
little  better,  than  the  other  party. 

It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  two  men  sent  to  the  woods  to 
split  rails,  stakes,  or  the  like,  with  but  one  beetle,  and  as  many 
wedges  and  glats,  as  one  man  only  needs.  Two  laborers  can 
work  together  very  advantageously  in  splitting  such  materials 
only  when  each  one  has  all  the  tools  which  one  man  requires. 
But  when  two  men  have  but  one  beetle,  and  a  corresponding 
number  of  wedges,  if  they  are  ever  so  faithful,  there  must  neces 
sarily  be  a  loss  of  time, — unless  one  hand  confines  himself  closely 
to  splitting,  while  the  other  chops  off  the  cuts,  and  peals  and 
piles  whatever  the  other  splits.  But  pealing,  piling  up,  and  cut 
ting  the  cuts,  are  usually  much  less  than  half  the  labor  required, 
to  make  rails  and  stakes.  The  true  and  economical  way,  when 
two  men  are  employed  to  split  rails  together,  is,  to  furnish  each 
one  with  a  beetle,  an  axe,  and  as  many  wedges  as  he  needs.  And 
then  let  both  work  together,  when  opening  the  cuts,  each  one 
having  a  good  handspike,  especially  when  the  cuts  are  large  ; 
and  when  a  cut  is  separated,  let  each  one  take  one  half  to  split 
into  rails ;  and  they  will  not  be  in  each  other's  way  ;  and  all 
their  time  and  labor  will  be  most  economically  appropriated. 
(See  SPLITTING  RAILS,  par.  63.) 

In  digging  post-holes,  two  men  are  very  frequently  seen  at 
work  with  but  one  set  of  tools.  Under  such  circumstances,  it  is 
almost  impossible  for  two  laborers  to  dig  in  a  day  twice  as  many 
holes  as  one  man  alone  will  dig.  When  each  one  must  of  neces 
sity  wait  a  few  minutes  when  he  wants  to  use  a  tool,  for  the 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

other  to  finish  using  it,  for  the  time  there  will  be  a  loss  of  time ; 
and  in  a  few  days,  those  lost,  idle  moments,  when  a  laborer  is 
receiving  seventy-five  cents  or  more  per  day,  will  soon  amount 
to  enough  to  purchase  a  set  of  tools. 

During  the  season  of  haying  and  harvesting  in  particular,  the 
tyro  should  see  to  it  that  every  plan  is  most  wisely  and  economi 
cally  laid,  in  disposing  of  the  manual  forces  of  the  farm.  "Whether 
he  leads  the  van  in  active  labor,  or  only  superintends,  he  should, 
as  occasion  requires,  think  what  disposition  he  may  make  of  his 
-orces,  in  order  to  accomplish  the  greatest  amount  of  labor  in  a 
given  time.  If,  for  example,  it  will  be  necessary  to  spread,  or 
turn,  or  air  a  lot  of  hay,  in  some  distant  field,  which  one  man 
will  be  able  to  do  in  half  an  hour  or  so,  let  one  only  go  and  do 
it.  Let  one  hand  only  get  a  team,  instead  of  sending  two. 
When  there  are  more  than  two  hands  in  loading,  let  two  pitch 
while  one  loads :  because  one  man  can  load  for  two  pitchers  just 
as  well  as  for  one.  When  the  distance  is  half  a  mile  or  more 
from  the  barn  to  the  field,  and  it  is  convenient  to  have  two  teams 
to  haul  with,  three  hands  will  accomplish  more  at  hauling  hay 
and  grain,  by  putting  on  two  loads  in  the  field  and  driving  them 
to  the  place  of  unloading,  and  unloading  both  wagons,  than  they 
will  to  use  only  one  wagon  and  one  team  :  because  there  will  be 
less  time  not  appropriated  to  useful  labor  when  there  are  two  teams, 
than  when  but  one  is  used.  In  hauling  anything  any  consider 
able  distance,  in  order  to  appropriate  the  working  hours  to  the 
most  economical-,  purpose,  each  man  should  have  a  team,  so  that 
all  his  time  may  be  consumed,  if  not  in  active  labor,  in  something 
which  consumes  time,  such  as  simply  driving  a  team  with  a 
load. 

In  hauling  heavy  logs  or  timber,  where  two  or  more  hands  are 
absolutely  necessary  in  loading,  in  order  to  lose  no  time  of  work 
men,  each  one  should  have  a  team ;  and  then  two,  three,  or  more, 
as  may  be  necessary,  should  load  one  team,  and  then  another ; 
and  then  each  man  drive  a  team  to  the  place  of  unloading,  when 
no  time  need  be  consumed  to  no  purpose. 

I  have  been  led  to  pen  these  thoughts  in  consequence  of  having 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

seen  so  much  injudicious  and  uneconomical  appropriation  of  the 
manual  forces  of  the  farm ;  and  by  those,  too,  who  were  always 
grumbling,  and  complaining  that  their  work  was  always  behind  ; 
and  that  they  were  not  able  to  get  laborers  to  perform  as  much  in 
a  day  for  themselves,  as  when  they  were  in  the  employ  of  some 
of  their  neighbors.  I  might  expatiate  upon  the  subject  to  four 
times  its  present  length,  with  seeming  propriety ;  but  enough 
has  been  said  to  induce  the  tyro  to  think  and  plan  for  himself, 
and  to  appropriate  his  forces  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
occasion. 

It  may  be  urged  that  hard-working  laborers  need  rest;  and 
that  it  seems  rather  like  a  disposition  to  overreach  the  limits  of 
fairness  and  propriety.  It  is  granted  that  they  need  rest ;  but 
there  is  no  danger  that  they  will  not  avail  themselves  of  all  the 
time,  necessary  or  not,  to  reinvigorate  their  partially  exhausted 
faculties.  They  will  seldom  consider  any  number  of  hours  spent 
in  idleness,  in  the  light  of  rest;  nor  will  they  seldom  feel  willing 
to  make  any  greater  exertion,  when  they  are  in  active  labor,  if 
half  their  time  is  consumed  in  idleness,  than  they  do  when  they 
work  during  all  the  working  hours  of  one  or  of  many  days. 
There  are  always  rainy  days,  and  portions  of  days,  during  the 
year,  when  laborers  cannot  labor  at  all  advantageously ;  but  they 
must  receive  the  same  wages  that  they  do  when  they  are  earning, 
in  a  day,  twice  the  sum  which  they  receive  per  day.  But,  when 
the  weather  is  fair,  it  is  but  just  and  right  that  all  the  forces  should 
be  brought  into  operation,  in  the  most  economical  and  effective 
manner.  The  tyro  should  plan  work  for  his  hands  on  the  pre 
ceding  day,  so  that  each  one,  as  soon  as  he  rises  in  the  morning, 
can  start  immediately  to  his  business,  without  hanging  around  a 
half-hour  or  more,  before  he  knows  what  to  go  about.  Let  one 
nrm  go  and  feed  the  teams;  and  another  do  this,  and  another 
o,i  do  that  job,  until  breakfast  time,  and  in  this  way  a  long 
catalogue  of  little  jobs  will  be  performed,  during  the  season,  which 
otherwise  would  have  gone  undone.  Another  consideration  of 
vast  importance  is, 


24  INTRODUCTION. 


THE    COOPERATION    OF    THE    WIFE. 

"  Good  husband  without  it  is  needful  there  be  : 
Good  housewife  within  is  as  needful  as  he." — TUSSER, 

However  judiciously  and  economically  the  plans  for  the  opera 
tions  of  the  farm  may  be  laid,  if  a  man  and  his  wife  do  not  har 
monize,  most  completely,  in  prosecuting  their  labors,  he  had  better 
at  once  dispose  of  his  farm,  and  lay  by  the  avails  of  it  for  decrep 
itude  and  old  age,  and  work  out  by  day's  work.  The  housewife 
and  her  operations  are  the  great  regulator  of  the  operations  of  the 
farm.  There  is  too  much  truth  in  the  old  maxim,  for  fiction,  that 
"  if  a  man  would  succeed  well  in  his  livelihood,  he  must  ask  his  wife." 
A  very  great  fault  among  many  farmers  is,  they  do  not  consult 
their  wives  in  relation  to  matters  with  reference  to  which  it  is 
highly  proper  they  should  have  a  word  or  two  to  say.  "We  com 
miserate  the  man  who  bears  the  reproach  of  a  hen-pecked  husband  ; 
and,  when  we  see  a  wife  ruling,  and  engineering  in-doors  and  out 
of  doors,  we  think  that  if  she  had  a  husband  far  superior  to  her- 
self,  she  would  be  a  woman  of  sterling  worth.  It  cannot  be 
denied  that  wives  have  often  made,  to  their  husbands,  some  most 
capital  suggestions,  in  reference  to  the  operations  of  the  farm ; 
and  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that  many  women  are  far  more 
capable  of  planning  judiciously,  and  carrying  on  more  economi 
cally  the  operations  of  the  farm,  than  their  husbands.  But  if  a 
wife  superintends  and  executes,  in  the  best  manner,  the  in-door 
operations,  nothing  more  should  be  required  of  her.  I  know  that 
very  many  men  consider  it  a  little  beneath  them  to  consult  their 
wives  with  reference  to  any  of  their  plans ;  and  they  will  never 
suffer  their  wives  to  know,  if  they  can  prevent  it,  any  thing  about 
their  income  or  expenditures,  or  their  debit  or  credit.  But  it  is 
a  matter  of  doubt  whether  there  ever  was  an  instance  in  which  a 
ni;m  habitually  consulted  his  wife,  when,  as  a  consequence,  it 
proved  detrimental,  or  a  disparagement  to  him  in  any  respect. 
There  can  be  no  impropriety  in  the  practice  of  some  men,  of 
allowing  the  housewife  to  know  exactly  all  about  the  income  and 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

expenditures,  the  debit  and  credit  of  the  farm ;  and  if  these  wise 
ones,  who  congratulate  themselves  that  they  have  a  most  perfect 
knowledge  of  the  best  manner  of  performing  the  operations  of  the 
farm,  would  confer  a  little  more  with  their  wives,  their  wisdom 
would  be  greatly  increased. 

"  A  man  may  spare  and  yet  be  bare, 
If  his  wife  be  naught — if  his  wife  be  naught  I 
But  a  man  may  spend,  and  have  cash  to  lend, 
If  his  wife  be  aught,— If  his  wife  be  aught/" 


THE 

YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL, 


CHAPTEK  I. 

SELECTING    THE    MOST    SUITABLE    LOCATION   FOB   THE   BUILDINGS 
OF   A   FARM. 

"  Be  this  our  home— that  ever  hallowed  spot, 
To  plant  a  palace  or  a  lowly  cot." 

1.  THE  first  and  very  important  consideration  with  a  young 
farmer,  as  soon  as  he  comes  into  possession  of  a  farm,  is,  to  have 
all  his  buildings  situated  in  the  most  convenient  location,  with 
reference  to  each  other  and  to  the  different  fields  of  the  farm. 
If  a  farm  is  broken  up  by  gullies  and  deep  ravines,  if  convenience 
of  access  to  fields  on  both  sides  of  them  is  any  object,  the  young 
farmer  should  endeavor  to  have  his  buildings  located  at  the  most 
desirable ,  point.  If  a  farm  is  rather  undulating,  or  nearly  level, 
and  its  boundaries  at  nearly  right  angles,  it  is  not  attended  with 
much  difficulty  to  select  a  site  for  the  farm  buildings  which  shall 
prove  most  convenient  in  every  respect.  It  is  always  most 
desirable  to  have  every  field  as  convenient  of  access  from  the 
barn  as  possible.  This  is  desirable,  not  only  for  the  sake  of 
convenience,  but  for  the  sake  of  economy  in  the  expenses  of 
travelling,  with  or  without  loads,  to  and  from  the  fields.  Some 
people  will  select  only  a  high  spot  of  ground  for  locating  farm 
buildings,  and  never  even  think  of  consulting  convenience  of 

(27) 


28  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

access  to  the  distant  parts  of  a  farm.  Americans  almost  univer 
sally  will  erect  their  buildings  along  the  highway,  even  when  such 
a  location  would  place  them  entirely  on  one  side  of  their  farm. 
"When  the  boundaries  of  a  farm  are  in  the  shape  of  a  wedge, 
which  is  not  unfrequently  the  case,  and  the  barn  is  located  on  the 
small  end,  it  makes  a  vast  amount  of  unnecessary  travel  and 
labor  in  hauling  the  produce  of  distant  fields  to  the  barn,  and  in 
returning  the  manure  to  them.  Streams  of  water  and  springs 
often  influence  the  young  farmer  in  choosing  the  most  desirable 
and  convenient  location  for  buildings ;  but  streams  of  water  can 
be  so  easily  turned  from  their  natural  course,  and  the  water  of 
springs  can  be  brought  in  pipe  or  tube  at  so  small  an  expense, 
and  up  hill,  too,  that  these  considerations  should  have  but  little 
weight  in  selecting  the  location  for  the  buildings  of  a  farm. 
When  the  farm  is  composed  of  only  forty  or  fifty  acres,  and  is 
located  in  a  square  compass,  if  the  buildings  are  all  located  on 
one  side  of  it  the  inconvenience  is  not  so  great  as  it  is  when  the 
buildings  are  all  on  one  side  of  a  large  farm.  Convenience  would 
dictate  that  the  buildings  should  be  located  as  near  the  middle  of 
the  farm  as  is  practicable. 

2.  It  is  true  that  there  are  many  advantages  in  having  the 
buildings  of  the  farm  located  on  the  borders  of  the  highway ; 
but  it  is  a  very  rare  instance  in  which  the  disadvantages  attend 
ing  the  performance  of  the  labors  of  the  farm — if  the  farm  is  a 
large  one — would  not  have  a  preponderating  influence  if  they 
were  fairly  and  impartially  compared.  There  are  some  farmers 
who  have  torn  away  from  the  very  common  custom  of  building 
along  the  highway,  and  have  located  their  buildings  in  the  centre 
of  the  farm,  and  the  result  is,  the  most  distant  fields  are  situated 
nearer  the  barn,' and  much  less  time  is  spent  in  going  to  and  from 
them.  Should  the  centre  of  a  farm  be  an  undesirable  location, 
on  account  of  low,  wet  ground,  it  would  be  far  better  to  locate  a 
little  at  one  side  of  the  centre,  than  to  be  placed  entirely  at  one 
side  of  the  farm. 

3.  If  I  were  to  commence  on  a  new  farm  of  only  fifty,  or  of 
two  hundred  acres,  on  which  there  were  no  streams  or  springs 


29 

of  water,  I  would  dig  a  large,  deep  well  in  the  centre  of  the 
farm,  and  erect  a  wind  wheel  for  pumping  the  water ;  and  here 
I  would  locate  the  buildings,  and  would  lay  out  a  lane  each  way 
from  the  centre  of  the  farm,  north,  south,  east,  and  west,  so  that 
cattle  could  go  to  and  come  from  any  field  to  the  water  without 
crossing  another  field.  The  land  appropriated  to  lanes  would 
produce  pasture,  and  therefore  would  not  be  useless.  If  it  were 
only  "  the  fashion"  to  have  the  buildings  of  a  farm  located  near 
the  centre  of  it,  the  inconveniences  arising  from  having  the  build 
ings  located  entirely  at  one  side  of  it  would  seem  almost  intoler 
able.  It  will  require  no  more  land  for  the  sites  of  buildings,  and 
for  pleasure  grounds  and  yards,  in  the  centre  of  a  farm,  than  would 
be  occupied  near  the  borders  of  the  highway. 

4.  For  the  arrangement  and  disposition  of  buildings,  and  for 
plans  of  dwelling-houses,  and  plans  of  out-buildings — as  a  chapter 
of  proper  length  on  that  subject  would  swell  this  Treatise  far 
beyond  its  prescribed  limits — young  farmers  who  are  interested 
in  this  subject,  will  find  all  that  the  most  fastidious  can  desire  on 
this  subject,  in  works  devoted  to  that  subject. 

PLOTTING    THE    FARM    AND    LAYING    OUT    THE    FIELDS. 

5.  Every  farmer  should  draw  a  Plan  of  his  farm  on  a  large 
sheet  of  drawing-paper,  which   may  be  inclosed  in  a  wooden 
frame,  or  it  may  be  delineated  on  a  large  board,  neatly  planed. 
Let  the  Deed  of  a  farm  be  taken  to  a  good  surveyor,  who  has 
the  proper  instruments,  and  he  will  be  able  to  delineate  the  shape 
of  any  farm,  with  the  different  distances  of  a  proper  proportion  to 
each  other,  with  the  outside  lines  running  at  the  same  angle  in 
the  plan  that* they  do  on  the  farm.     The  larger  the  plan  is,  the 
better  it  will  be.     The  next  step  will  be,  to  lay  out  the  farm  into 
fields  of  the  most  convenient  shape  and  size.     If  the  farm  is  a 
large  one,  the  fields  may  be  proportionately  large ;  but  if  the 
farm  is  small,  and  the  proprietor  designs  to  keep  a  limited  num 
ber  of  cattle,  or  animals  of  any  kind,  the  fields  must  be  small. 
It  should  always  be  the  aim,  in  dividing  a  farm  into  fields,  by 
fences,  to  have  the  boundaries  of  each  field  run  about  at  right 


30  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

angles.  But  when  a  farm  is  cut  up  with  highways,  railroads, 
and  deep  gullies,  which  do  not  run  parallel  with  the  outside 
boundaries,  the  young  farmer  must  exercise  a  little  judgment  and 
skill  in  giving  them  a  shape  that  will  be  most  convenient  of 
access  from  the  barn.  If  the  buildings  are  so  located  that  the 
fields  must  necessarily  be  all  on  one  side  of  a  lane,  leading  to  the 
barn,  it  would  be  more  convenient  to  have  the  fields  eighty  or 
one  hundred  rods  long,  and  of  a  narrow  width,  and  let  them 
extend  from  the  farther  boundary  of  the  farm  to  the  lane,  than  to 
have  the  fields  square  and  be  obliged  to  cross  one  or  two  fields 
in  order  to  reach  a  distant  field.  Sometimes  it  seems  desirable 
to  make  the  fields  of  an  irregular  shape,  in  order  to  allow  animals 
in  each  field  to  have  access  to  water.  But  it  is  not  always  ad 
visable  to  give  a  field  an  irregular  shape  for  the  sake  of  a  stream 
of  water,  when  it  can  be  brought  to  that  field  for  a  small  expense. 
It  is  always  desirable  to  have  the  fields  of  a  uniform  size,  especially 
when  one  adopts,  in  raising  crops,  a  rotation  system. 

6.  The  first  settlers  of  our  country  were  accustomed  to  locate 
their  buildings  almost  anywhere ;  and  to  clear  and  cultivate  the 
best  and  dryest  land  first ;  and  to  fence  around  those  parts  of  the 
farm  which  were  too  wet  to  plow,  and  to  keep  them  for  pasture 
only.  The  result  was,  that  the  fields  of  many  farms  were  as 
irregular  in  shape  as  a  shapeless  rock.  When  the  location  is 
such  that  such  places  can  be  drained,  the  fences  should  be  made 
in  the  desired  places,  and  all  wet  places  and  corners  made  dry  by 
ditching.  Having  decided  upon  the  form  and  size  of  each  field, 
let  marks  be  delineated  in  the  plan  to  represent  the  fences.  Let 
each  field  be  designated  in  the  plan  by  some  name,  or  title,  or  by 
some  tree,  or  rock,  or  pool,  or  they  may  be  designated  as  the 
fields  A,-  B,  C,  &c.  This  plan,  or  map,  should  be  placed  where 
every  one  connected  with  the  farm  could  see  it  often,  and  under 
stand  the  location  of  every  field,  and  woods,  and  yard,  and  build 
ing,  from  the  map.  Now,  if  there  are  little  streams  running 
across  the  farm,  let  them  be  represented  by  dotted  lines,  running 
at  about  the  same  angle  in  the  map  that  they  do  on  the  farm. 
When  under-drains  are  made  in  any  field,  dotted  lines  should  be 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.         31 

made  on  the  map  to  represent  them.  The  distances  should  be 
accurately  measured  in  the  field, — how  many  rods  from  a  given 
corner  a  certain  ditch  crosses  the  boundary  of  such  a  field,  and 
how  many  rods  it  runs  in  a  given  direction,  and  how  many  rods 
from  a  certain  corner  it  crosses  the  fence  towards  the  outlet. 
Should  there  be  branches  in  a  main  ditch,  let  the  distance  from  a 
given  side  of  the  field  be  accurately  measured,  in  rods  or  feet,  and 
noted  down  with  the  dotted  lines  on  the  map.  All  this  will  not 
require  as  much  time,  if  everything  is  performed  systematically, 
as  I  have  consumed  in  penning  these  few  thoughts.  If  the 
ditches  are  filled  with  tile,  stone,  or  wood,  in  any  form,  let  it  be 
noted  on  the  map,  and  also  the  time  when  the  ditches  were  made. 

7.  T  he  advantage  to  be  derived  from  knowing  exactly,  to  one 
foot  or  less,  where   an  under-drain  is  located,  may  often  be  of 
more  or  less  pecuniary  profit,  in  case  a  certain  ditch  should  fail 
to  discharge  the  surplus  water  where  it  is  located,  in  consequence 
of  some  little  obstruction,  which  could   be   readily  found  if  the 
exact  location  of  the  drain  were  known.     (See  DRAINING,  395.) 

8.  If  a  young  farmer  should  happen  to  settle  on  a  farm  where 
all  the  necessary  buildings  are  erected  and  the  fields  laid  out,  he 
may  frequently   obviate    many   very    great   inconveniences,    by 
altering  the  shape  of  his  fields,  and  by  removing  the  out-build 
ings  to  a  more  desirable  and  convenient  location. 

GENERAL    REMARKS    AND    SUGGESTIONS    IN    REFERENCE    TO 
ERECTING    FARM    BUILDINGS. 

9.  Every  man  who  has  a  lot  of  farm  buildings  to  erect,  needs 
all  the  forethought  and  experience  of  him  who  has  had  the  super 
vision  of   erecting  the  necessary  buildings  of   a  large  farm,  in 
order  that  he  may  be   able  to  plan   everything  judiciously,  and 
see  that   every  part  of  a  job  is  executed   economically  and  sub 
stantially.     Erecting  buildings  is  a  piece  of  labor  which  is  not  to 
be  performed  every  year  of  a  man's  life  ;    and  it  is  almost  always 
quite  impracticable  to  undo,  and  perform  correctly,  a  job  in  build 
ing  that  has  been  done  amiss.     Not  one  in  fifty  knows  how  to 
take  advantage  of  common  circumstances  in  erecting  his  build- 


32  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

ings  ;  and  but  few  know  really  what  materials  are  actually  neces 
sary,  or  know  how  to  obtain  them  in  the  most  economical  and 
expeditious  manner.  A  few  practical  suggestions  on  this  subject 
may  be  of  almost  incalculable  advantage  to  the  young  farmer. 

10.  When  a  man  of  little  experience  is  about  to  commence 
building,   he  should   make  a  most  vigorous  effort  to  ascertain 
what  kind  of  buildings — how  large  or  how  small,  whether  of 
wood,  brick,  or  stone — he  really  needs.     It  may  save  him  seve 
ral  hundreds  of  dollars,  to  first  procure  the  excellent  periodicals 
published  on  this  subject ;    as  in  them  he  will  find   an  almost 
unlimited  variety  of  ground  plans  and  elevations  of  buildings. 
In  order  to  build  most  economically,  the  stone  and  sand  should 
all  be  hauled  in  the  winter,  when  the  labors  of  the  farm  are  not 
on  hand  ;  and  boards  and  plank  should  be  well-seasoned,  not  less 
than  one  year,  before  they  are  worked  up.     In  the  meantime, 
the  beginner  should  confer  with  those  who  have  had  experience 
in  planning  buildings  ;  and  endeavor  to  have  every  plan  arranged 
in  the  most  complete  and  economical  manner.     Always,  if  pos 
sible,  commence  building  in  the  spring ;  because  the  weather  is 
usually  more  favorable,  and  the  days  are  longer,  and  workmen 
will  perform  full  one  quarter  or  one  third  more,  than  they  will  be 
able  to  do  in  the  short,  unfavorable,  and  cold  days  of  autumn. 
"We  will  commence  with 

THE    DWELLING-HOUSE. 

11.  Every   dwelling-house   needs   a  good   cellar   beneath   it. 
And  in  order  to  have  it  cool  in  summer,  and  dry  and  warm  in 
winter,  the  foundation  walls  should  be  built  not  less  than  twenty 
inches  above  the  level  of  the  ground,  after  the  ground  has  been 
levelled  off,  in  order  to  furnish  sufficient  space  for  the,  cellar  win 
dows.     The  surface  of  the  ground  should  always  descend  a  little 
from  the  house  in  order  to  carry  off  the  surface  water.     Before 
the  cellar  walls  are  laid,  a  good  drain  should  be  cut  not  less  than 
six  inches  deeper  than  the  bottom  of  the  cellar,  and  a  little  trench 
dug  entirely  around  the  bottom  of  the  cellar  leading  into  the 
main  ditch.     Now,  let  water  be  poured  into  the  trench  to  ascer- 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  33 

tain  whether  it  will  flow  out  freely  into  the  main  ditch.  If 
water  will  run  out  of  the  trench  into  the  main  ditch,  lay  pipe  or 
sole  tile,  having  not  less  than  an  inch  and  a  half  calibre,  in  this 
trench  entirely  around  the  cellar,  and  cover  them  with  hard  dirt, 
well  tramped  down  on  the  tile.  These  tile  will  carry  off  all  water 
that  would  find  its  way  into  the  cellar.  Let  tile  be  laid  in  the 
main  drain.  Two  inch  tile  is  sufficiently  large.  Never  trust  to 
a  drain  filled  with  stone  about  a  cellar,  or  beneath  any  building ; 
because  they  will  be  filled  with  some  obstruction  in  a  few  years. 
Let  the  main  drain  extend  into  the  cellar  a  foot  or  two.  Let  the 
bottom  of  the  cellar  be  a  few  inches  highest  in  the  centre.  If  it 
is  convenient,  let  a  lead  pipe  extend  from  the  bottom  of  the  rain 
water  cistern  through  the  foundation  of  the  cellar,  having  a 
faucet  or  plug  in  the  end,  so  that  when  the  cistern  needs  to  be 
emptied,  or  the  cellar-bottom  needs  cleaning,  water  may  be  let 
out  of  the  cistern  on  the  cellar  bottom,  and  allowed  to  escape 
through  a  hole  in  a  flat  stone  into  the  drain.  All  the  sur 
plus  water  of  the  cistern,  during  heavy  rains,  should  pass  off 
through  the  tile  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  passage  clear. 
Never  build  a  dry  wall  around  a  cellar  under  any  building ; 
because  you  will  wish  a  thousand  times  in  less  than  five  years, 
chat  the  stone  had  been  laid  up  in  good  mortar.  (Read  paragraph 
187,  to  learn  the  best  manner  of  laying  stone  walls.)  Remember 
that  roots  and  fruit  will  freeze  much  sooner  in  a  damp  cellar  than 
they  will  in  a  dry  one.  Make  calculations  to  have  sufficient 
space  in  the  cellar  to  allow  a  tall  man  to  walk  erect  in  it,  and 
carry  a  basket  of  potatoes  on  his  shoulder.  If  a  building  is 
large  and  heavy,  the  foundation  stone  should  be  sunk  six  inches 
below  the  bottom  of  the  cellar ;  and  the  stone  walls  should  in 
no  case  be  less  than  twenty  inches  in  thickness.  Thirty  inches 
thick  would  be  far  better. 

12.  In  hauling  the  stone  for  the  cellar  wall,  the  young  farmer 
should  endeavor  to  select  those  first  which  have  a  good  face  side, 
and  reject  all  ill-shapen  ones;  and  when  unloading  them,  let 
them  be  well  spread  out,  with  the  face  side  up,  and  corner-stones 


34  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

by  themselves,  so  that  a  stone-mason  will  be  able  to  select  readily 
such  as  he  needs,  first  or  last. 

WATER   LIME    CELLARS. 

13.  In  localities  where  building-stone  is  very  scarce,  and  the 
subsoil  is  very  compact  and  hard,  the  cellar  walls  may  be  built 
with  a  small  amount  of  stone,  after  the  manner  of  building  in 
this  region.  Excavate  the  ground  of  the  size  of  the  cellar,  about 
one  foot  deep,  and  build  the  foundation  wall  two  feet  high,  mak 
ing  calculations  to  grade  up  on  the  outside  nearly  one  foot  high. 
Let  the  wall  above  the  ground  be  carried  up  with  square  timber 
to  the  desired  height.  There  should  be  a  narrow  space  between 
the  timbers,  as  frost  will  not  pass  timbers  of  the  same  thickness, 
^when  there  is  a  space  between  them,  as  soon  as  it  will  one  solid 
stick :  and  so  with  stone  foundations.  If  a  wall  is  built  of  two 
courses  of  stone,  the  frost  will  be  excluded  from  the  cellar  much 
longer  than  it  will  if  the  stones  extend  entirely  across  the  wall. 

Now,  let  the  cellar  be  dug  about  three  and  a  half  feet  below 
the  bottom  of  the  walls,  leaving  a  square  shoulder  of  earth,  not  less 
than  two  feet  wide,  entirely  around  the  cellar ;  and  let  this 
shoulder  of  earth  be  well  plastered  with  water-lime  mortar,  both 
on  the  side  and  on  the  top.  This  shoulder  will  be  found  a  very 
convenient  shelf  to  place  barrels  on  in  the  winter.  I  know  of 
cellars  that  have  been  built  in  this  manner  fifteen  years,  and  are 
now  as  good  as  when  they  were  first  built.  But  the  frost  must 
be  kept  out  of  such  cellars,  or  it  will  injure  such  plastering,  and 
make  it  peel  off.  The  middle  of  such  cellars  should  be  the 
highest,  and  a  gutter  made  around  the  outside  to  carry  off  the 
water.  My  own  cellar  is  built  in  this  manner ;  and  although  it 
has  been  built  ten  years,  and  has  been  injured  by  the  frost  only  a 
little  in  two  places,  still  I  regret  that  the  walls  were  not  built 
from  the  bottom  of  the  cellar  with  good  stone.  These  consider 
ations  with  reference  to  the  foundation  wall,  are  equally  applicable 
to  the  foundation  of  a  barn  or  other  out-buildings.  Every  build 
ing  should  have  a  good  stone  wall  under  it,  laid  up  in  lime  mortar. 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  85 

14.  In  building  the  superstructure,  as  a  general  rule,  timber  is 
made  use  of  which  is  nearly  twice  as  large  as  is  necessary.     It  is 
better  to  have  the  frame  timber  too  large  than  too  small.     Sills, 
one  foot  square,  lying  on  a  good  stone  wall,  are  more  than  twice 
as  large  as  is  necessary.     And,  besides,  such  large  timber  is  very 
liable  to  be  affected  with  the  "  dry  rot."     Sills,  six  by  eight,  or 
ten  inches  square,  are  sufficiently  large  for  any  building  that  is 
erected  on  a  wall,  whether  dwelling-house  or  barn.*     For  small 
building,   sills  that  are  six   inches  square  are  infinitely  better 
than  if  they  were  four  times  as  large.     When  a  tree  is  a  large 
one,  of  which  it  is  desirable  to  make  a  sill  or  other  timber,  let  it 
be  slit  at  the  saw-mill  of  the  desired  size.     A  tree  will  often  turn 
out  four  good  sticks  of  timber  when  sawed,  besides  some  boards 
or  plank ;  whereas,  if  it  was  scored  and  hewed  only  one  stick 
could  be  obtained.     Where  the  plates  of  a  building  are  supported 
by  studs  between  the  posts,  if  they  are  five  by  eight  inches  square, 
they  will  be  sufficiently  strong  for  the  roof  of  any  ordinary  build 
ing.     As  most  kinds  of  timber,  with  the  heart  of  the  tree  in  the 
middle  of  the  stick,  is  liable  to  check  and  crack  open,  often  to  its 
great  injury,  if  a  tree  is  slit  through  the  middle  for  a  couple  of 
plates,  they  will  not  check.     If  there  is  a  large  seam  in  the  middle 
of  the  tree,  a  plank  or  two  may  be  sawed  out  of  the  middle,  and 
the  plates  cut  out  of  the  soundest  wood. 

15.  The  Roofs  of  buildings  are  often  made  too  flat  for  profit. 
A  flat  roof,  whatever  the  materials  are  of  which  it  is  made,  is  far 
more  liable  to  leak  than  a  steep  roof,  and  it  will  leak  much  sooner 
than  if  it  were  steeper ;   and  the  same  roof  will  be  serviceable 
full  ten  years  longer  if  built  with  a  half  pitch,  than  it  will  if  built 
with  a  quarter  pitch.f      A  roof  looks  far  better,  and  is  more 

*  A  largo  church  was  recently  taken  down  in  this  town,  tho  sills  of  which  were  of  the 
best,  of  white  oak,  one  foot  square,  and  although  the  outside  was  as  sound  and  tough  as 
good  spoke  timber,  about  one-third  of  the  middle  of  the  sills  was  nothing  but  a  mass  of 
"dry  rot."  The  rationale  is,  that  the  sills  could  not  season  only  in  part,  because  they 
were  so  large. 

•f  When  a  building  is  sixteen  feet  wide,  and  the  ridge  of  the  roof  is  four  feet  higher  than 
the  top  of  the  plates,  the  roof  is  said  to  have  a  quarter,  or  one-fourth,  pitch.  When  the 
ridge  of  the  roof  is  eight  feet  higher  than  the  top  of  the  plates,  and  the  building  sixteen 
feet  wide,  it  is  said  to  have  a  half-pilch. 


36  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

durable,  when  it  kas  about  one-third  pitch,  than  if  it  is  built  flatter. 
"When  a  roof,  covered  with  wooden  shingles,  has  one-half  pitch, 
the  shingles  may  be  completely  worn  out  before  that  roof  will 
leak.  And  another  consideration  of  great  importance  is,  in 
countries  like  this,  where  snow  falls  deep,  the  roofs  of  buildings 
should  have  not  less  than  one-third  pitch,  because  the  steeper  the 
roof  is,  the  less  liable  a  body  of  snow  is  to  lodge  on  it ;  and  a 
body  of  snow  that  would  thrust  the  plates  apart,  or  injure  the 
roof,  if  it  had  but  a  fourth  pitch,  would  not  remain  on  a  steep 
roof.  When  heated  air  from  any  of  the  rooms  below  the  roof 
melts  the  snow  on  the  roof  in  cold  weather,  the  water  thus  formed 
will  run  down  to  the  eaves,  and  freeze  before  it  falls  into  the 
eaves-troughs ;  and  if  there  is  much  snow  on  the  roof,  and  the  roof 
has  less  than  one-third  pitch,  ice  will  continue  to  form  at  the 
eaves,  until  it  becomes  so  thick  that  the  water  will  flow  back 
under  the  shingles,  and  fall  down  on  the  walls  in  the  upper 
rooms.  This  is  of  very  common  occurrence  in  this  region,  and 
many  costly  walls  in  elegant  dwellings  have  been  seriously 
damaged  in  this  way. 

16.  The  remedy  is,   steeper  roofs,  with  the  eaves  projecting 
beyond  the  sides  of  the  building,  not  less  than  two  feet,  measur 
ing  horizontally.     If  the  roof  projects  two  feet  or  more,  and  is 
rather  steep,  there  will  not  be  as  much  water  and  ice ;  and  should 
it  freeze  at  the  eaves,  there  will  not  be   enough  on  the  roof  to 
cause  the  water  to  flow  back  under  the  shingles  above  the  plates. 

17.  The  beginner  should  be  careful  to  see  that  when  a  house 
or  any  other  building  is  framed,  some  means  is  devised  to  pre 
vent  the  middle  of  the  building  from  spreading.     Jobbers  are  not 
particular  on  this  point,  and  many  times  the  plates  at  the  middle  of 
the  building  will  be  thrust  apart  several  inches,  to  the  great  injury 
of  the  building.     Sometimes  a  scantling  bolted  from  near  the  foot 
of  one   rafter  to  the  other,  called  a  cottar,  on  each  of  the  rafters, 
will  be  sufficient.     In  large  buildings,  if  the  roof  is  not  supported 
by  purline  plates  and  posts,  the  foot  of  the  rafters   should  be 
secured  by  means  of  a  truss,  or  a   tie  and  king-post  and  struts. 
Sometimes  this  may  be  most  effectually  prevented,  as  in  a  hay 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  37 

barn,  where  a  beam  would  be  very  much  in  the  way,  by  fitting 
a  brace,  without  mortises,  and  bolting  one  end  of  it  to  the  middle 
post  just  below  the  plate,  and  the  other  end  to  the  upper  side  of 
the  beam  which  supports  the  floor.  Braces  in  such  places,  when 
put  in  with  tenon  and  mortise,  almost  always  give  way,  and  it  is 
not  safe  to  rely  upon  them. 

18.  When  a  roof  is  covered  with  wooden  shingles,   a  little 
care  should  be  exercised  in  having  the  shingles  three  courses  thick. 
The  distance  which  one  course  of  shingles  is  laid  above   the 
other,  is  called  laying  to  the  weather.     If   shingles  are  laid  six 
inches  to  the  weather,  and  the  greater  part  of  them  are  a  little 
less  than  eighteen  inches  in  length,  the  shingles  will  not  be  of 
three  thickness  over  the  entire  roof;  but  there  will  be  many  places 
at  the  butts  of   each  course,  where  the  top  end  of   the  under 
course  does  not  extend  far  enough  up  the  roof  to  receive  the 
water  as  it  falls  from  the  butts  of  the  outside  course.     A  new 
roof  often  will  leak  because  the  shingles  are  laid  more  than  one- 
third  of  their  length  to  the  weather ;  whereas,  the  courses  should 
be  laid  a  little  less  than  one-third  the  length  of  the  shortest 
shingles. 

OUT-BUILDINGS. 

19.  Many  farmers  seem  to  prefer  a  lot  of  small  detached  barns 
to  one  large  one.     But  those  who  have  ever  had  a  cluster  of 
small  barns,  and  afterwards  came  in  possession  of  one  larger  one, 
greatly  prefer  a  large  one  to  a  lot  of  small  ones.     On  the  score 
of  economy,  one  large  barn  that  will  contain  as  much  as  three 
or  four  small  ones,  will  cost  nearly  one  half  less  to  erect  it ;   and 
a  number  of  small  ones  are  never  as  convenient  as  one  large  one. 
The  young  farmer,  as  a  general  rule,  need  have  no  apprehensions 
that  he  will  erect  a  barn  larger  than  is  necessary,  for  the  com 
plaint  almost  always  is  a  want  of  barn  room.     Barn  room  usually 
is  all  occupied ;   and  in  most  instances  it  pays  a  good  interest ; 
but  so  much  redundant  house  room  as  is  too  frequently  met  with, 
is  a  decided  disadvantage  to  a  farmer.     A  few  years  ago  barns 
were  built  with  posts  only  twelve  and  fourteen  feet  in  length  ; 
because  it  was  so  laborious  and  expensive  pitching  hay  or  grain 


38  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

to  the  top  of  them.  But  now  that  we  have  very  efficient  horse 
elevators,  out-buildings  should  be  made  much  higher  than  they 
formerly  were.  It  costs  but  a  trifle  more  to  frame  a  post  twenty- 
four  feet  long  than  it  costs  to  frame  one  fourteen  feet  long  ;  and 
it  requires  no  more  rafters,  and  roof  boards,  and  shingles,  to 
cover  a  high  building  than  a  low  one.  The  posts  of  a  large 
barn  may  just  as  well  be,  and  ought  to  be,  twenty-four  feet  long, 
as  to  be  shorter.  If  such  posts  are  eight  inches  square  no  one  need 
have  any  fears  that  they  would  ever  prove  too  small ;  providing 
every  one  is  well  braced.  Every  additional  brace  gives  addi 
tional  stiffness  to  a  building  ;  and  the  young  farmer  should  insist 
on  having  the  foot  of  every  post  braced,  where  they  will  not  be 
in  the  way,  with  as  long  braces  as  there  is  room  for  receiving ; 
and  each  end  should  be  well  pinned.  One  brace  at  the  foot  of  a 
post,  is  more  effectual  in  rendering  a  high  building  stiff,  than  two 
braces  at  the  top  of  it.  The  braces  in  a  barn  frame  may  face 
with  the  inside  of  the  posts  ;  and  then  they  can  cross  the  girts  ; 
and  braces  as  long  as  can  be  received  between  the  posts  can  be 
used  without  interfering  with  the  girts  or  studs. 

20.  Jobbers  will  usually  mutter  and  grumble  when  requested 
to  put  in  long  braces  on  the  inside  of  posts  ;  and  will  deny  the 
importance  of  having  long  braces,  and  of  having  the  ends  of 
them  well  pinned.  But  these  ideas  have  not  been  penned  with 
out  knowing  from  experience  how  a  building  should  be  braced, 
in  order  to  render  it  as  stiff  as  possible  with  a  given  quality  and 
form  of  materials.  It  is  by  no  means  the  largest  timbers  that 
can  be  worked  into  a  building,  which  impart  the  greatest  strength 
and  stiffness  to  the  frame  ;  but  it  is  the  manner  in  which  the  framing 
is  performed.  Every  tenon,  where  it  is  possible,  should  pass 
entirely  through  a  sill  or  post ;  and  be  well  pinned  with  very 
tough  pins.  The  girts — or  girders — should  never  be  placed  more 
than  four  feet  apart.  If  they  are  much  farther  apart,  the  outside 
boards,  which  are  nailed  to  them,  will  not  be  as  firm  as  they 
should  be.  The  main  beams  should  be  not  less  than  fourteen 
feet  from  the  floor ;  so  as  to  allow  sufficient  room  for  a  load  of 
hay  or  grain  to  pass  under  them.  If  such  beams  are  eight  by 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


39 


ten  inches  square,  and  supported  at  proper  distances  with  middle 
posts,  they  will  be  large  enough  for  any  barn.  The  beginner 
should,  at  the  commencement  of  a  job,  give  the  foreman  direc 
tions  to  let  the  ends  of  every  beam  into  the  posts  not  less  than 
half  an  inch,  so  that  the  superincumbent  pressure  will  not  all 
rest  on  the  tenons. 

21.  The  sleepers  or  joists  of  the  principal  floor  should  be 
stiff  enough  to  sustain  any  team  and  load  without  bending ;  and 
they  never  should  be  placed  more  than  three  feet  apart  from 
centre  to  centre,  even  when  two  inch  plank  is  used  for  the  floor. 
Two  inch  basswood  plank,  thoroughly  seasoned,  with  the  edges 
plowed  with  a  half-inch  plow,  a  half-inch  deep,  and  a  tongue 
neatly  fitted,  like  Fig.  1,  will  makev  as  neat  a  barn  floor  as  any 

FIG.  1. 


MANNER   OF   UNITING   BARN-FLOOR  PLANK. 


one  can  desire.     Fig.  2  represents  the  best  manner  of  uniting  the 

FIG.  2. 


MANNER  OF   3IAK1NG   END   JOINTS  TO   FLOORING. 


ends  of  plank  or  floor  boards.  In  the  absence  of  good  plankj  a 
double  floor  of  inch  boards  will  subserve  a  good  purpose.  In 
this  case,  a  good  coating  of  tar,  or  lime  and-  tar,  should  be  laid 
between  them  for  the  purpose  of  excluding  wire-worms  and  all 
other  insects,  and  for  rendering  the  floor  tight  and  firm. 

22.  "When  there  are  a  number  of  different  kinds  of  timber  in 
the  frame,  such  as  soft  and  hard  wood,  the  proprietor  should  see 
that  the  workmen  have  three  or  four  different  sizes  of  nails  in 
their  boxes.  Every  good  joiner  knows  that  it  is  not  always 
practicable  to  drive  ten  or  twelvepenny  nails  into  seasoned,  hard 
2* 


40  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

wood.  In  nailing  on  siding  or  inch  boards,  if  the  timber  is  hard 
wood,  nails  of  a  smaller  size  should  be  used.  Let  a  workman 
attempt  to  nail  on  a  half-inch  board  with  tenpenny  nails  driven 
into  a  stud  of  sugar  maple,  thoroughly  seasoned ;  and  after  the  nail 
has  entered  about  one  inch  it  will  bend  or  break  ;  and  the  siding 
will  most  assuredly  be  split.  Let  sixpenny  nails  be  used  for  nail 
ing  into  hard  wood,  and  eights  and  tens — according  to  the  thickness 
of  the  boards — when  the  studs,  posts,  or  girders  are  of  soft  wood. 

23.  In  order  to  keep  the  large  beams  from  springing  outwards 
or  in  either  direction,  two  or  three  of  the  middle  joists  should  bo 
let  in  with  a  dove-tail. 

24.  Rafters  should  be  firmly  spiked — not  pinned  with  wooden 
pins — to  the  plates ;    because  wooden  pins  are  very  liable  to 
shrink  and  become  loose ;    and  if  the  roof  should  project  as  far 
as  it  ought  to  in  order  to  appear  well,  a  violent  gale  of  wind 
would  lift  the  roof  from  the  plates.     But  forty  penny  nails  will 
hold  it  in  place. 

25.  Reference  should  be  had,  in  erecting  a  large  barn,  to  the 
most  proper  and  economical  disposition  of  the  room.     The  joists, 
which  extend  from  one  large  beam  to  another,  should  be  loose,  so 
that  they  can  be  removed  until  the  mow  is  filled  up  to  them, 
when  they  should  be  put  in  their  places,  and  a  few  loose  boards 
laid  on  them.     Now  the  lower  part  of  the  mow  may  be  threshed 
out ;  and  then  the  upper  part  can  be  threshed,  and   the  straw  de 
posited  in  the  lower  part  of  the  mow.     Should  more  room  be 
needed,  the  horse  fork  may  be  used   to  pitch  a  lot  of  straw  into 
the  upper  part  of  the  mow. 

26.  Every  good  barn  should  have    a  basement  story,  and  a 
water  channel  of  tile  should  be  laid  around  the  entire  foundation, 
as  recommended  for  a  cellar,  paragraph  11,  in  order  to  render  it 
as  dry  as  possible ;    and  the  barnyard  should  be  so  constructed 
that  no  manure  will  be  wasted. 

27.  Eaves-troughs  should  conduct  all  surplus  water  into  the 
tile,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  them  open.     Basement  and  cellar 
walls  are   often  ruined  by  allowing  the  water  to  fall  from  the 
eaves  and  soak  into  the  ground  along  the  walls. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


41 


28.  When  a  carriage-house,  hay-barn   and  stable  are  erected 
under  one  roof,  the  posts  may  be  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  high, 
just  as  well  as  ten  or  twelve  feet  to  the  roof.     When  the  posts 
are  short  there  is  but  little  room  for  hay.     It  will  cost  but  a  few 
dollars  more  to  erect  a  carriage-house  with  twenty-feet  posts  than 
with  twelve-feet  posts. 

29.  I  have    erected   a    carriage-house  the  past  summer,  with 
eighteen-feet  posts  ;  and  I  regret  they  were  not  twenty  feet  long. 
The  roof  is  one-third  pitch,  and  on  the  top,  at  the  middle  of  the 
ridge,  is  a  hole  five  and  a  half  feet  square  ;  and  a  square  cupola, 
with  a  door  five  and  a  half  feet  square  on  one  side  of  it,  is 
erected  over  it,  into  which  hay  is  pitched  with  a  horse-fork.     The 
highest  pulley  is  attached  in  the  top  of  the  cupola.      With  such 
an  arrangement  the  loft  can  be  filled  with  hay  to  the  peak  with 
no  inconvenience. 

30.  As  tie  beams  are  always  very  much  in  the  way  in  a  hay- 
barn,  in  my  carriage-house  loft,  braces,  made  of  iron-wood  poles 
six  inches  in  diameter  and  seven  feet  long,  were  neatly  fitted, 
without  tenons,  and  bolted  to  the  middle  posts  below  the  plats,  and  to 
the  upper  side  of  the  middle  beam  with  iron  bolts  three-fourths  of  an 
inch  in  diameter,  as  represented  by  Fig.  3.     Such  braces  keep  the 

3  (  _  t    beam    from    sagging,    and     the 

plates  from  spreading  apart. 

SCARFING    TIMBERS. 

31.  It  is  often  very  difficult  to 
procure  timber  of  a  given  length. 
For  sills  and  beams  that  are  well 
sustained  with  middle    posts   or 
studs,    they    subserve    about    as 
good  purpose  if  they  are  neatly 
scarfed   together,  and    keyed,   or 
well  bolted. 

32.  There  are  several  different 
modes  of  scarfing,  or   •'  splicing" 
timbers  ;  but  some  are   very  in 

efficient,  while  some  others  will  render  a  stick  almost  as  strong  as 


MANXER   OF   BOLTING   A  TIE  ERACE   TO   BEAM 

AND  I'.te-r. 


42 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


a  whole  stick.     Fig.  4  represents  the  best  and  strongest  manner 

FIG.  4. 


STRONGEST  MANNER  OF  SCARFING   POSTS  AND   BEAMS. 

of  scarfing  timbers.  This  style  requires  more  skill  to  make  good 
joints  than  either  of  the  other  figures.  This  style  is  calculated 
more  particularly  for  beams  and  posts.  When  timber  is  scarfed 
like  Fig.  4,  iron  bolts  should  be  put  through  both  ways,  and  the 
feather-edged  ends  well  nailed.  When  two  timbers  are  scarfed 
like  Fig,  5,  if  they  are  well  pinned  with  wooden  pins  iron  bolts 

FIG.  5. 


T  T 

MANNER  OF  SCARFING   SILLS. 


will  not  be  necessary.  The  square  hole  in  the  middle  of  the 
scarf  or  splice  should  be  laid  out  with  about  one-eighth  of  an  inch 
draw  ;  so  that  when  a  wooden  key  is  driven  firmly  in,  the  pieces 
will  be  brought  to  a  close  joint. 

CAUSE    OF    DECAY    OF    THE    TIMBERS    OF    A    BUILDING. 

33.  If  the  timbers  of  a  building  should  be  kept  dry,  they 
would  remain  sound  and  serviceable  during  all  time,  even  if  they 
were  not  made  of  the  most  durable  kinds  of  wood.  When  mor 
tises  for  studs,  or  anything  else,  are  made  in  the  upper  side  of  a 
sill,  or  any  other  part  of  the  frame;  or  when  there  are  large  checks 
in  the  upper  side  of  a  stick,  a  hole  should  be  bored  in  the  side  of 
the  stick,  so  as  to  intersect  the  bottom  of  mortises  or  checks,  for 
the  purpose  of  affording  a  passage  for  any  water  to  escape  that 
might  find  its  way  into  such  cavities.  I  know  it  is  argued  that 
when  a  house  is  erected  it  should  be  so  well  inclosed  that  no 
water  can  ever  find  its  way  into  cavities  in  the  timber.  But 


THE  YOUNG  FARMERS  MANUAL.  43 

sometimes  a  driving  storm  will  force  the  water  through  small 
cracks,  so  that  it  will  be  very  difficult  to  determine  from  what 
source  it  comes.  And  may  times,  in  cleaning  house,  some  do 
mestics  will  have  every  floor  in  the  house  completely  deluged 
with  water,  which  flows  into  mortises  and  checks,  and  soon  causes 
decay.  "When  my  dwelling-house  was  erected,  a  hole  was  bored 
with  a  large  bit  in  the  side  of  the  timber  at  the  bottom  of  every 
mortice,  and  other  cavities  in  the  frame. 

34.  As  there  are  so  many  manufactories  throughout  the  coun 
try  of  window  blinds,  sash,  and  panel  doors,  the  beginner  will  find 
it  most  economical  usually  to  purchase  such  articles  ready  made  ; 
because  all  such  things  when  made  by  machinery  are  neater  and 
truer  than  the  majority  of  mechanics  will  make  them,  even  if  they 
have  ability  to  do  it  as  well.     Panel  doors  should  be  allowed  to 
season  nearly  a  year  before  they  are  pinned  together,  and   then 
they  will  not  shrink  after  they  have  been  hung. 

VALUE    OF    BASSWOOD. 

35.  "Whenever  a  man  is  located  where  pine  lumber  is  scarce, 
and  very  costly,  and  other  timber  is  abundant,  such  as  basswood, 
whitewood,  butternut,  chestnut,  and  some  other  kinds  of  wood, 
they  may  be  used  instead  of  pine.     For  inside  panel  doors,  bass- 
wood,   for  both   stiles   and   panels,  is   equally   as  good  as  pine. 
"When  I  built  my  house  I  used  basswood  for  many  jamb  casings, 
and  for  the  face  casings,  and  for  outside  doors  as  well  as  inside. 
Basswood  is  better  to  paint  on  than  good  pine  ;  and  will  be  as 
durable  as  pine  if  it  is  kept  well  painted.     Some  of  the  face  cas 
ings  in  my  parlor  are  basswood,  some  butternut,  and   some  pine. 
They  are  painted  white ;  and  nearly   every  stick  of   pine  can 
be   selected,  because  the   coloring  matter  in  the  pine  has  struck 
through  the  paint,  notwithstanding  it  has  been  well  painted  four 
times.     Basswood  siding  is  now  coming  into  very  extensive  use  ; 
and  if  I  were   to  build  a  house,  or  any  other  building,  and  had 
good  basswood  on  my  own  land,  I  would  not  hesitate  to  use  it  for 
siding,  doors,  and  all  kinds  of  casings,  and  for  floors. 

36.  Basswood  Shingles. — In  localities  where  pine  and  hemlock 


44  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

are  scarce,  and  basswood  is  abundant,  the  beginner  need  not  hesi 
tate  to  use  basswood  shingles,  providing  they  are  well  coated  with 
coal  tar  once  in  two  or  three  years.  They  may  be  sawed,  cut,  or 
shaved.  I  have  laid  several  thousands  of  sawed  basswood  shingles 
during  the  past  season,  and  I  have  great  confidence  in  them. 
It  is  necessary  to  use  nearly  twice  as  many  nails  in  nailing  them 
on  as  is  necessary  for  pine  and  hemlock.  If  basswood  shingles  are 
from  eight  to  ten  inches  wide,  each  shingle  should  be  nailed  with 
at  least  five  nails ;  otherwise,  when  they  become  a  little  wet,  they 
will  expand,  and  the  middles,  or  edges,  will  rise  or  "  bulge  up." 
If  well  nailed  they  will  make  a  neat  roof ;  and  if  kept  well  coated 
with  tar,  will  be  serviceable  a  hundred  years.  (See  PAINTING 
ROOFS,  next  Vol.) 

WALLS    AND    LATH. 

37.  When  the  sides  of    a  room  or  that  part  overhead  are 
lathed  with  lath  of  ordinary  length,  wherever  the  lath  break  joint 
for  a  foot  or  two,  there  will  be  a  crack  in  the  wall.     In  order  to 
remedy  this  cracking  of  the  walls,  the  strips  of  lath  should  extend 
entirely  across  the  room.    When  a  house  is  lathed  in  this  manner, 
there  will  be  no  cracks  in  the  plastering  across  the  lath. 

38.  The  lath  for  my  house  were  all  sawed  with  a  two-horse 
railway  power,  with  a  circular  saw  one  foot  in  diameter,  out  of 
basswood  plank,  which  was  about  an  inch  and  a  quarter  thick. 
The  lath  were  sawed,  about  three-eighths  of  an  inch  thick,  very 
true ;  and  there  is  not  a  place  in  the  entire  house  where  the  lath 
break  joint ;  and,  consequently,  not  a  crack  to  be  found  across 
the  lath.     This  is  a  very  economical  way  to  procure  lath  ;  and 
they  are  usually  much  better  than  those  that    are  purchased. 
Have  the  logs  sawed  into  plank  an  inch  and  one-fourth  thick,  as 
long  as  the  width  of  the  widest  room ;  and  let  them  be  sawed  up 
into  lath  before  they  are  seasoned,  as  they  will  not  saw  so  hard. 
Such  work  should  be  performed  when  the  business  of  the  farm 
does  not  demand  attention. 

39.  Mortar. — No  one  can  reasonably  expect  to  have  good  walls 
unless  they  are  made  of  the  best  of  mortar ;   and  good  mortar 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  45 

cannot  be  obtained,  however  good  the  materials  may  be  of  which 
it  is  made,  unless  it  is  most  thoroughly  worked  over  and  over  again 
for  a  number  of  successive  months,  before  it  is  laid  on  the  lath. 
It  is  a  very  laborious  job  to  work  over  the  mortar  for  a  large 
house,  when  it  is  performed  by  hand  labor.  When  lime  and 
sand  are  mingled  together,  and  in  a  few  days  laid  on  the  lath, 
the  plaster  will  shrink  and  the  wall  will  be  covered  with  cracks, 
and  the  plaster  will  soon  crumble  off.  But  if  about  two  bushels 
of  clean,  sharp  sand  is  mixed  with  one  bushel  of  unslacked  lime, 
and  the  mass  is  worked  over  once  in  two  or  three  weeks  for  a 
few  months,  a  wall  that  is  made  of  it  will  appear  like  slate  ;  and 
will  not  crack  unless  the  building  or  some  parts  of  it  change  their 
position,  as  is  frequently  the  case  by  seasoning.  In  order  to  have 
good  mortar,  that  may  be  spread  like  good  butter,  it  must  be 
mixed  and  worked  over  often  enough  to  have  the  lime  slack 
most  thoroughly,  and  "  to  work  the  shrinkage  out."  If  mortar 
should  be  worked  over  once  in  ten  days  for  a  year,  it  would  be 
all  the  better  for  it,  and  would  make  a  better  wall. 

40.  To  facilitate  the  labor  of  mixing  mortar  so  frequently  as 
is  desirable,  when  my  house  was  erected  I  constructed  a  rude 

FIG.  6. 


MACHINE  FOB   MIXING   MORTAR. 

machine  for  mixing  it  with  horses,  which  subserved  an  excellent 
purpose,  and  which  is  represented  by  Fig.  6.  It  is  a  very  cheap 
concern,  and  will  pay  for  itself  in  one  day.  It  consists  of  a  post, 
<r,  about  six  inches  in  diameter,  very  firmly  set  in  the  ground, 


46  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

not  less  than  three  feet  deep,  and  about  two  feet  high.  Put  an 
iron  band  on  the  top  to  keep  it  from  splitting.  An  iron  bar,  5, 
(a  small  crowbar  will  answer,)  passes  loosely  through  the  sweep, 
c,  into  the  centre  post,  a.  Next,  lay  a  floor — water  level — on  the 
ground,  and  nail  the  side  boards,  which  should  be  sixteen  or 
twenty  inches  wide,  to  stakes  driven  into  the  ground.  The  side 
boards  should  be  placed  in-  an  octagonal  form,  as  shown  in  the 
figure,  although  if  the  sides  were  circular  it  would  be  preferable. 
The  floor  should  be  about  fourteen  or  sixteen  feet  in  the  clear. 
The  sweep,  c,  should  be  six  inches  square  in  the  middle,  twenty 
feet  long,  and  the  ends  may  be  made  smaller  or  not.  The  pad 
dles,  or  legs,  should  be  made  of  hard  wood,  two  by  four  inches 
square,  firmly  inserted  in  the  sweep,  c,  with  a  two  inch  tenon; 
about  six  inches  apart,  and  so  disposed  that  those  on  one  side 
will  not  traverse  in  the  tracks  of  those  on  the  opposite  side,  but 
between  them.  The  form  of  the  legs  is  shown  at  E.  They  are 
made  similar  to  the  wings  of  a  wind  wheel,  with  the  two  corners* 
which  are  in  a  diagonal  direction  from  each  other,  dressed  off 
smoothly,  so  that  each  knife-like  leg  will  work  the  mortar  towards 
the  centre.  They  should  be  not  less  than  three-fourths  of  an 
inch  thick  after  they  are  dressed  out.  If  they  are  too  thin  they 
will  break  in  mixing  stiff  mortar. 

41.  Let  the  lime  and  sand  be  put  in,  and  hitch  a  horse  at  each 
end  of  the  sweep,  and  commence  mixing  as  the  water  is  poured 
in,  until  it  is  so  soft  that  it  will  flow  slowly,  and  the  surface 
become  level.  Shovel  the  mortar  from  the  corners  into  the 
middle  every  time  it  is  worked  out.  When  a  large  quantity  of 
mortar  is  necessary,  two  or  more  places  may  be  made,  and  the 
same  sweep  used  for  all  of  them.  When  the  sun  shines,  the 
mortar  should  be  covered  with  boards.  Keep  the  surface  of  the 
mortar  covered  with  water,  when  not  working  it ;  and  if  there 
should  be  too  much  water  when  it  is  to  be  worked  over  again, 
let  it  be  dipped  off.  It  should  be  worked  over  at  least  once  in 
ten  days,  and  should  never  be  allowed  "to  set"  or  become  so 
hard  that  it  cannot  be  readily  worked  over  with  a  trowel.  It  is 
better  to  have  a  horse  at  each  end,  because  the  strain  will  not  be 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  47 

as  hard  on  the  post  in  the  centre,  as  it  would  be  if  the  power  is 
all  applied  at  one  end.  Let  the  mortar  be  first  mixed  in  the 
spring,  and  keep  it  well  worked  all  summer ;  and  if  there  is  as 
much  lime  in  it  as  there  should  be,  it  will  spread  like  butter,  and 
make  walls  as  smooth  and  hard  as  stone.  These  directions  were 
followed,  to  the  letter,  in  mixing  the  mortar  for  my  present 
dwelling-house ;  and  some  of  it  was  worked  over,  once  in  ten  or 
twelve  days,  for  more  than  six  months  before  it  was  used;  and 
my  masons  affirmed  that  they  had  never  before  handled  mortar 
that  spread  so  neatly,  and  made  such  firm  walls. 

42.  The  hair  should  never  be  put  in  until  a  few  days  before 
the  mortar  is  to  be  used,  because  the  lime  will  destroy  it.     In 
separating  the  bunches  of  hair,  some  prefer  to  put  it  in  a  large  tub, 
and  allow  it  to  soak  for  a  few  days,  and  then  have  it  well  stirred 
until  there  are  no  bunches ;  and  some  prefer  laying  it  on  a  floor 
and  whip  it  to  pieces  with  an  elastic  whip. 

MOVING    BUILDINGS. 

43.  Buildings  are  very  frequently  located  very  inconveniently, 
both  in  regard  to  each  other  and  to  the  fields  of  the  farm,  and 
removing  them  to  a  more  desirable  location,  and  arranging  them 
more  conveniently,  appears,  to  most  men,  almost  as  impracticable 
as  removing  a  mountain.     I  have  known  instances  in  which  the 
task  of  removing  a  certain  building,  or  cluster  of  buildings,  seemed 
to  the  proprietor  such  a  vast  and  expensive  undertaking,  that  he 
has  been  almost  ready  to  offer  four  times  as  much  to  have  the 
job  well  performed,  as  the  actual  cost  would  be.     When  out 
buildings  are  scattered  here  and  there,  if  they  are  not  erected  on 
a  substantial  wall,  the  arrangement  would  suit  the  fancy  of  most 
men  to  have  them  conveniently  arranged  in  a  cluster,  on  sub 
stantial  foundations. 

44.  The  machinery  for  moving  buildings  has  become  so  well 
perfected  at  the  present  day,  that  it  costs  comparatively  but  a  few 
dollars  to  load  a  large  building,  and  haul  it  fifty  or  a  hundred 
rods,  up  hill  or  down,  without  injuring  it  in  the  least.     If  the  sills 
aie  sound,  a  building  can  be  loaded  in  a  few  hours;  and  if  the 


48  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

ground  is  firm  and  smooth,  it  can  be  hauled  along  with  all 
desirable  rapidity.  When  a  building  is  so  long  that  it  would  sag 
down  in  the  middle  when  loaded,  it  can  be -cut  in  two,  and  the 
parts  moved  separately  and  placed  "together  on  the  foundation. 
Many  times  when  a  building  was  not  erected  in  one  part,  but  in 
two  or  three  united  together,  by  putting  timbers  under  the  sills, 
and  by  balancing  it  correctly  when  loading  it  on  the  trucks,  it 
may  be  removed  with  ease  and  safety. 

45.  Proprietors  of  moving  machines  usually  ask  from  four  to 
six  dollars  per  day  for  the  machine,  and  one  hand  to  work  it. 
But  they  often  work  by  the  job ;  and  if  the  owner  of  a  moving- 
machine  is  a  faithful  laborer,  and  a  man  of  honest  principles,  it 
will  always  be  the  cheapest  *to  employ  him  by  the  day.     When 
a  man  has  buildings  to  move,  and  he  is  not  at  all  posted  with 
regard  to  the  time  and  expense  of  moving  a  certain  building,  un 
principled  fellows  will  often  ask  four  times  as  much  as  would  be 
a  fair  and  honest  price  for  a  given  job. 

46.  I  once  built  a  good  machine  for  moving  buildings,  and 
worked  it  a  few  years  very  successfully;    and  with  four  good 
hands  and  one  horse,  could  load  a  large  barn  and  move  it  eight 
or  ten  rods  in  one  day.     But  small  buildings  can  be  moved  with 
much  greater  facility.     When  a  man  has  buildings  of  any  kind 
to  move,  he  should  do  it  when  the  ground  is  dry  and  hard,  as  it 
costs  nearly  twice  as  much  to  move  them  when  the  ground  is 
soft.     If  there  is  any  manure  around  a  building,  it  should  all  be 
removed ;  and  the  ground  over  which  the  building  is  to  be  moved, 
should  be  levelled.     One  or  two  day's  work  in  preparing  the  way 
and  clearing  up  the  rubbish,  will  often  save  a  man  ten  dollars  in 
moving  one  building.     I  have  known  some  farmers  to  move  their 
barns  when  all  the  manure  which  they  had  made  in  two  years 
remained  about  them,  which  always  proved  a  great  obstruction  in 
moving  the  buildings,  and  cost  three  times  more  than  it  would 
have  cost  had  the  manure  been  first  removed. 

47.  The  art  of  moving  buildings  of  all  kinds  has  been  so  per 
fected,  that  in  most  of  our  large  cities  tftre  are  those  who  possess 
sufficient  skill  and  machinery  to  move  with  safety,  not  only  the 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


heaviest  wooden  buildings,  but  those  that  are  built  of  brick,  and 
which  are  computed  to  weigh  three  hundred  tons. 

MANNER  OF    FRAMING    THE    MIDDLE    BENTS  OF    A    LARGE    BARN. 

48.  The  importance 
of  having  large  build 
ings  framed  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  sides 
will  not  be  thrust  late 
rally  by  the  rafters,  has 
already  been  alluded 
to  in  par.  17.  Fig.  7 
represents  a  style  of 
framing  the  middle 
bents,  which  is  very 
convenient  and  effi 
cient  ;  and  I  have 
never  seen  it  laid  down 
in  any  treatise  on  archi 
tecture.  As  purline 
beams  are  many  times 

very  much  in  the  way      MANNER  OF  FRAMING  THE  MIDDLE  BENTS  OF  A  LARGE  BARX. 

they  may  be  dispensed  with  entirely.  The  girts  which  connect 
the  tops  of  the  middle  post  to  the  purline  posts,  should  be  of  strong 
timber ;  and  the  tenons  should  extend  through  each  post ;  and 
one  edge  of  the  tenons  be  fitted  to  a  dove-tail  mortise,  and  keyed 
tight  instead  of  being  pinned.  The  braces  a  a,  at  the  foot  of  the 
purline  posts,  should  be  nearly  as  large  as  the  purline  posts ;  and 
should  face  on  the  opposite  sides  from  the  girts.  Should  the 
purline  posts  be  not  less  than  twelve  feet  long,  a  beam  might  be 
framed  in ;  and  there  would  be  sufficient  room  to  pitch  with  a 
horse  pitch-fork,  both  under  and  over  the  purline  beam.  If  the 
doors  are  so  arranged  that  teams  are  driven  length  ways  of  the 
barn  or  across  it,  the  framing  will  be  nearly  the  same  in  both 
cases.  Very  large  builomgs  may  be  framed  in  this  manner  ;  and 
if  the  work  is  well  performed  the  sides  will  not  spread  one-fourth 


50 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


of  an  inch.  "When  a  barn  is  framed  in  this  manner  with  purline 
learns,  the  boss  must  remember  not  to  pin  one  of  the  outside 
posts  when  raising  the  building,  until  after  the  purline  posts  have 
been  put  up  ;  because  the  girts  which  connect  the  purline  posts 
with  the  main  posts,  cannot  be  put  in  after  both  of  the  main  posts 
have  been  pinned ;  unless  one  end  of  one  of  the  girts  is  framed 
without  a  shoulder,  so  that  it  may  be  run  through  one  post  and 
then  brought  back  to  its  place  and  pinned.  If  the  barn  is  very 
wide  there  should  be  two  middle  posts  instead  of  one,  placed  far 
enough  apart  for  the  width  of  the  floor. 


MANNER    OF    FRAMING   A    CORN-HOUSE. 

FIG.  8.  49.  Fig.  8  represents  a 

very  good  style  of  framing 
the  bents  of  a  corn-house. 
The  figure  represents  one 
of  the  bents.  A  A  are. 
the  spaces  for  cribs;  and 
should  not  be  more  than 
three  feet  wide  at  the  bot 
tom,  and  as  high  as  may 
be  desired.  -  The  bents 
should  be  placed  about 
three  feet  apart,  with  girts 
between  them  not  more  than 
three  feet  apart,  to  which 
slats  are  to  be  nailed. 
The  space  B  is  for  the 
door  or  threshing  floor,  which  should  be  tight  for  holding  shelled 
corn.  This  space  should  be  not  less  than  seven  feet  wide  with 
doors  at  each  end  of  the  building,  so  that  a  wagon  loaded  with 
corn  ears  can  be  Driven  through  it.  The  upper  floor  should  be 
made  of  slats  or  narrow  boards,  laid  half,  an  inch  apart,  for  hold 
ing  the  poor  corn.  If  the  corn  is  not  sorted  in  the  field,  it  can 


JTOST  IMPROVED  MANNER  OF  FRAMING  AN  INDIAN  CORN- 
HOOSE. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL.  51 

all  be  shovelled  on  the  second  floor ;  and  the  best  corn  thrown 
into  the  cribs  from  above.  The  most  convenient  way  to  get  the 
corn  out  of  the  cribs  is,  to  have  a  little  door  at  the  bottom  of  the 
cribs,  on  the  inside,  when  the  ears  will  come  out  as  fast  as  they 
are  shovelled  away ;  and  not  more  than  two  or  three  bushels 
will  come  out  at  one  time.  In  dry  weather,  let  the  doors  be 
kept  open  for  the  purpose  of  drying  the  corn.  The  frame  may 
stand  on  a  smoothly-built  stone  wall,  or  on  stone  pillars,  or  on 
pillars  built  of  brick,  or  on  wooden  posts,  covered  with  tin  or 
zinc,  to  prevent  the  rats  and  mice  climbing  up  the  posts.  Rats 
will  jump  sometimes  three  feet  high  ;  and  if  there  is  nothing  but 
stone,  or  zinc,  or  tin,  for  them  to  ascend  upon,  they  will  not  be 
able  to  enter  a  building.  When  an  abutment  is  made  at  either 
or  both  of  the  doors,  it  should  be  at  least  four  feet  from  the 
building  ;  and  a  plank  bridge,  hung  on  hinges  on  one  side,  and 
the  other  side  kept  turned  up  against  the  building  by  a  weight 
attached  to  one  end  of  a  rope,  which  passes  over  a  pulley,  and 
the  other  end  attached  to  the  bridge.  The  lower  end  of  a  flight 
of  stairs  may  be  kept  up  in  the  same  manner. 


BALLOON   FRAMES. 

50.  In  localities  where  hewn  timber  is  scarce,  every  expedient 
must  be  resorted  to  in  erecting  buildings,  in  order  to  save  un 
necessary  expense.  Necessity  and  economy  are  the  ostensible 
authors  of  the  well-tested  principle  (which  is  no  longer  looked 
upon  as  an  experiment  which  will  most  certainly  fail)  which  has 
been  for  a  score  or  more  of  years,  successfully  applied  in  erecting 
buildings  of  every  description,  which  have  received  the  sarcastic 
and  technical  appellation  of  "  balloon  frames"  They  are  erected 
without  a  stick  of  frame  timber,  or  posts,  or  beams  ;  without 
mortises,  or  tenons,  or  braces ;  and  if  erected  in  a  workmanlike 
manner,  the  most  incredulous  need  not  hesitate  to  adopt  this 
mode  of  building  a  most  elegant  house ;  for  they  will  stand  as 
firmly  in  a  violent  tornado  as  any  framed  building ;  and  could  be 


52  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

moved  from  one  place  to  another,  or  turned  up  on  one  side,  with 
out  any  more  danger  of  injuring  them  than  there  would  be  if 
they  were  framed.  I  am  aware  that  those — even  good  mechan 
ics — who  have  always  been  accustomed  to  nothing  but  heavy 
frame  timber,  will  scout  at  such  a  building,  and,  without  any 
hesitancy,  prognosticate  that  it  would  go  to  the  winds  before  it 
could  be  half  finished.  But  any  good  engineer  who  is  at  all 
acquainted  with  the  strength  of  materials — if  he  has  never  before 
heard  of  such  a  mode  of  building,  will  unhesitatingly  pronounce 
it  a  most  complete  triumph  over  the  costly  manner  of  building 
with  heavy  frame-timber ;  and  that  such  buildings  may  be  safely 
"taken  up  ly  the  hair"  and  tumbled  about  like  a  huge  box. 

51.  Such  buildings  require  just  as  much  siding,  and  lath,  and 
roofing  materials,  and  joists,  and  it  will  cost  just  as  much  to 
inclose  them,  and  finish  them  off;    but  any  mechanic  who  can 
make  a  window  frame  and  hang  a  door,  and  nail  two  pieces  of 
timber  together  at  right  angles,  can  erect  such  a  building  without 
the  assistance  of  a  loss. 

52.  The  lumber  for  a  balloon  frame  may  be  sawed  of   any 
desired  dimensions  ;  but  for  an  ordinary  building,  the  studs  should 
never  be  less  than  four  inches  wide ;   and  the   joists  should  be 
not  less  than  eight  inches  wide  if  sixteen  feet  long ;    and  for 
twelve-feet  joists  seven  inches  wide  is  sufficient ;    and  for  rooms 
eight  feet  wide  joists  six  inches  wide  will  be  sufficiently  wide. 
The  foundation  must  be  as  permanent  and  substantial  as  for  a 
brick  building.     Now,  lay  a   joist  on  the  foundation  walls  on 
every  side  for  the  sills,  and  halve  the  corners  together,  and  nail 
them  well.     Joists  two  inches  by  eight  will  be  sufficiently  large, 
although  there  can  be  no  objection  to  using  sills  of  timber  or 
larger  joists.     Now,  if  the  rooms  are  to  be  nine  feet  between 
joints,  and  the  upper  and  lower  joists  eight  inches  wide,  and  the 
building  is  to  be  two  stories  or  more  high,  make  a  pattern  for 
the  studs  of  a  half-inch  board,  just  ten  feet  and  four  inches  long, 
with  a  gain  cut  in  it,  just  at  the  under  side  of  the  upper  joists, 
an  inch  deep  and  four  inches  wide.     If  the  building  is  to  be 
covered  with  vertical  siding,  gains  must  be  cut  in  the  outside  of 


THE  YOUNG  FAKMEE'S  MANUAL. 


53 


the  studs  an  inch  deep  and  four  inches  wide.  Fig.  9  represents 
a  stud  pattern  with  two  gains  in  the  outside  and  FIG.  .9. 
one  in  the  inside  of  it.  Now,  mark  off  all  the 
studs  like  the  pattern,  marking  the  ends  with  a 
right  angle  or  square  mark.  Now,  with  a  horse- 
saw  saw  off  the  ends  square,  and  saw  the  gains, 
and  split  out  the  blocks,  and  saw  the  joists  of  a 
given  length.  Now,  take  two  studs  and  two 
joists — one  joist  for  the  lower  floor  and  one  for 
the  upper  floor — and  *nail  the  studs  and  joists 
together  at  right  angles.  Now,  raise  it  as  a  bent 
of  a  framed  building  is  raised.  Plumb  it  and 
"  stale-aft  "  it,  so  that  it  will  keep  in  a  perpendicu 
lar  position.  One  man  and  a  boy  is  all  that  is 
needed.  Now,  nail  two  more  joists  and  two 
studs  together,  and  set  them  up  about  one  foot 
apart  in  the  clear.  See  that  the  studs  stand 
plumb  both  ways,  before  they  are  nailed  ;  and  be 
careful  to  have  the  edges  of  the  joists  exactly 
even  with  the  ends  of  the  studs,  and  the  upper 
end  of  the  inside  gains  even  with  the  under  edge 

0       A  STUD  PATTERN  FOR 

of  the  joists  over  head.  After  the  studs  and  BALLOON  HOUSES. 
joists  have  been  set  up,  fit  ribs  in  the  gains  on  the  outside  for  the 
purpose  of  nailing  the  siding  to,  and  on  the  inside  for  sustaining 
the  joists  of  the  upper  floor.  The  ends  of  the  lower  joists  will 
rest  on  the  top  of  the  foundation  sticks,  into  which  nails  should 
be  driven  diagonally  through  the  corners  of  both  studs  and 
joists.  If  a  building  is  to  be  but  one  story  and  a  half  high,  the 
studs  may  extend  to  the  roof,  and  the  joists  be  nailed  to  the  sides 
of  them,  as  before.  Now,  nail  a  joist  on  the  top  ends  of  the 
studs  for  a  plate,  and  put  up  the  rafters,  being  careful  to  have 
the  rafters  rest  directly  over  the  studs.  If  a  two-story  house  is 
to  be  erected,  erect  one  story  as  already  recommended,  having 
the  upper  ends  of  the  studs  even  with  the  top  of  the  joists. 
Nail  a  piece  as  wide  as  the  studs  on  the  tops  of  them,  and  erect 
another  story,  nailing  the  lower  ends  of  the  studs  into  the  strips 


THE  YOUNG  FAEMEK'S  MANUAL. 


FlG.  10. 


on  which  they  stand.     On  each  side  of  the  doors  and  windows 

studs  four  inches  wide  should  be 
used.  If  a  building  is  erected 
with  an  attic  story,  collar  joists 
should  be  nailed  to  the  rafters 
near  the  lower  ends,  to  keep  the 
building  from  spreading.  If  the 
studs  should  not  extend  more 
than  one  or  two  feet  above  the 
attic  floor,  collars  on  the  rafters 
will  not  be  necessary.  The  raft- 
ers  should  be  notched  on  the  plate, 
and  should  extend  beyond  the  side 
of  the  building ;  and  the  lower 
ends  may  be  planed  and  painted  ; 
and  the  under  side  of  the  roof- 
boards  planed  and  painted ;  or 
the  rafters  may  be  ceiled  on  the 
under  side  of  them ;  or  finished 
with  a  plain  projection  or  cor- 

A   CHEAP  CORNICE  FOE  A  BALLOON  HOUSE.    niC6j    ag   SHOWn     by   Fig.    1 0,    which 

will  require  less  than  half  the  amount  of  lumber  and  labor; 
and  in  the  eyes  of  many  people,  present  a  more  desirable  appear 
ance  as  a  cheap  cornice. 

53.  Some  builders  line  or  ceil  such  buildings  on  the  inside  with 
rough,  second  or  third  quality  of  lumber;  and  then  lath  and 
plaster,  which  gives  a  building  additional  strength,  but  it  is  by  no 
means  necessary,  "Where  vertical  siding  is  used,  some  ceil  or 
line  the  outside  of  the  studs.  Some  place  the  studs  just  twelve 
inches  apart,  and  fill  between  them  with  brick  laid  in  lime  and 
mortar.  But  when  good  clay  can  be  obtained,  it  will  subserve 
about  as  good  purpose  as  lime  mortar.  Some  tenon  the  ends  of 
the  studs,  and  mortise  the  sills  and  plates ;  but  it  is  useless,  as 
they  will  never  move  if  well  nailed.  If  the  timber  is  hard  wood, 
holes,  just  large  enough  for  the  nail  to  drive  in  tight,  and  not 
split  either  studs  or  joists,  should  be  bored  for  the  nails  through 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  55 

one  stick  only.  Use  nails  just  long  enough  to  extend  through 
the  studs  and  joists,  and  drive  in  twice  the  number  of  small  nails 
that  would  be  necessary  of  large  nails,  which  would  protrude 
through  two  inches. 

54.  "When  a  balloon  frame  is  not  built  on  a  substantial  wall, 
the  superstructure  should  be  erected  on  sills  eight  inches  thick. 
No  young  farmer  need  hesitate  to  build  after  this  style ;  for  there 
are  more  than  thirty  thousand  of  such  buildings  in  the  Western 
countries ;    and  they  give  most  complete   satisfaction.     Almost 
any  kind  of  timber  may  be  used  for  studs  and  joists;  and  if  a 
man  is  possessed  of  but  a  small  amount  of  mechanical  skill,  he 
can  get  his  frame  timber  all  sawed  in  the  winter,  and  dress  out 
the  siding,  &c.,  when  he  cannot  labor  on  the  farm,  and  if  he  is  a 
good  economist,  his  house  or  building  will  not  cost  three  times 
more  than  it  ought  to  cost  for  the  labor  alone. 

55.  When   such  a  house  is  erected   by  the  job,  the  young 
farmer  should  not  neglect  to  see  that  not  less  than  five  good  nails 
are  driven  in  at  the  junction  of  each  joist  and  stud ;  and  that 
every  other  part  of  the  frame  is  well  nailed. 

HOW    TO    INCREASE    THE     HEIGHT     OF    ROOMS    WHEN    THEY    ARE 
TOO    LOW. 

56.  It  is  frequently  very  desirable  to  make  the  rooms,  both 
below  and  above,  one  foot  or  more  higher  between  the  joints 
than  it  was  originally  made.     When  the  attic  story  is  to  be  made 
higher,  if  the  roof  is  a  poor  one,  it  would  be  the  best  and  cheapest 
operation  to  take  it  to  pieces  and  raise  the  sides  to  the  desired 
height ;  and  then  erect  the  roof  as  when  a  new  house  is  built. 
But  when  a  roof  is  a  good  one,  and  it  is  desirable  to  raise  it  any 
number  of  feet,  let  collar  pieces  be  spiked  to  the  rafters  to  keep 
them  from  spreading,  and  then  raise  it  bodily  with  screws,  with 
or  without  the  plates,  to  the  desired  height.     If  the  rafters  are 
spiked  very  tightly  to  the  plates,  it  will  be  better  to  raise  the 
plates  with  the  roof,  and  then  put  another  set  of  plates  in  the 
place  of  the  first  ones. 

57.  I  once  performed  a  job  in  less  than  one  day,  by  the  as- 

3 


56  THE   YOUNG   FARMEK'S   MANUAL. 

sistance  of  two  men,  of  increasing  the  height  of  all  the  lower 
rooms  of  a  two-story  house.  The  lower  rooms  were  eight  and  a 
half  feet  between  joints,  and  it  was  desirable  to  make  them  ten 
feet  high.  Four  screws  were  paced  under  the  side  sills  of  the 
house,  two  of  them  a  few  feet  from  one  end,  and  two  others  about 
the  middle  of  the  building.  One  end  of  the  house  was  elevated 
about  twenty  inches,  when  it  was  sustained  on  shores,  placed 
under  the  beams,  and  girts.  The  sills  and  floor  were  then  low 
ered  with  the  screws  to  their  original  position,  when  the  ends 
of  the  post  and  studs  at  one  end  of  the  building  were  all  scarfed, 
or  "spliced,"  and  the  sills  were  then  raise.d  again  with  the  screws, 
and  the  shores  were  taken  out,  and  the  building  was  then  lowered 
on  the  foundation.  Then  the  two  end  screws  were  paced  near 
the  other  end,  and  that  end  was  elevated  and  sustained  on  shores, 
and  the  floor  lowered,  and  the  remainder  of  the  posts  and  studs 
were  scarfed,  and  the  shores  were  then  removed,  and  the  house 
lowered  to  its  original  position. 

58.  Barns  and  outbuildings  which  are  too  low,  may  be  raised, 
in  a  short  period  of  time,  ten  or  more  feet  higher ;  and  the  posts 
scarfed  at  an  expense  of  a  few  dollars.  If  the  spaces  below  the 
main  beams  of  a  barn  are  about  right,  let  the  roof  only  be  raised  ; 
but  if  the  arrangement  of  the  timbers  is  about  as  one  desires, 
above,  and  not  below  the  beams,  raise  the  superstructure  and 
scarf  the  posts,  or  put  a  part  of  a  new  frame  beneath  the  old  one. 
(See  PAINTING  BUILDINGS  in  the  next  vol.) 


CHAPTER  H. 

FENCING. 

"  SWIFT  from  the  rural  shades,  O  Muses,  bring 
Your  wonted  aid,  while  of  the  Fence  we  sing  I 
And  let  the  fence  our  fathers  built  of  rails, 
With  stakes  and  posts  and  boards,  or  logs  or  pales, 
Close  up  the  long-neglected  gaps." — INGERSOLL. 

59.  IF  there  is  any  one  thing  more  than  another  which  is  a 
source  of  constant  anxiety  and  unremitting  care  to  the  farmer,  it 
is  the  erection  of  suitable  fences  for  enclosing  his  own  grounds  for 
the  purpose  of  excluding  lawless  intruders,  or  keeping  his  own 
animals  within  proper  bounds.  "Wherever  a  farm  may  be  located, 
or  whatever  may  be  its  productions,  fence,  fence,  fence,  is  the  first, 
the  intermediate,  and  the  last  consideration  in  the  whole  routine  of 
the  operations  of  the  farm.  Erecting  new  fences  and  repairing 
old  ones,  and  laying  up  a  rail  here,  and  fastening  a  loose  board 
there,  is  something  that  demands  the  vigilance  of  the  farmer, 
from  the  commencement  to  the  close  of  the  year.  If  there  is  a 
day,  or  a  number  of  days,  when  the  laborers  of  the  farm  have 
arrived  at  a  point  when  they  do  not  seem  to  know  what  to  do  to 
advantage  and  profit,  they  can  almost  always  find  something  con 
nected  with  the  enclosures  of  the  farm,  the  performance  of  which 
will  be  a  work  of  some  profit  and  economy,  and  sometimes  of 
very  great  convenience.  In  the  winter  and  spring,  in  summer 
and  in  autumn,  on  stormy  days  and  leisure  days,  and  parts  of 
days,  if  all  the  plans  of  the  farm  are  wisely  laid,  something  may 
be  done  at  fences  or  gates,  or  bar-posts  or  bars.  But  few  farmers 
have  any  proper  idea  of  the  expense  attending  the  fencing  of  a 

(57) 


58  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

farm  of  one  or  two  hundred  acres,  when  performed  in  an  efficient 
and  workmanlike  manner;  and  could  they  see  at  a  glance,  in 
dollars  and  cents,  the  amount  expended  in  their  fences,  they 
would  be  disappointed  beyond  measure.  As  a  general  rule,  so 
changeable  and  perishable  are  the  materials  of  which  fences  are 
built,  that  the  expense  of  keeping  them  in  good  repair,  from  year 
to  year,  consumes  a  much  greater  amount  of  the  income  of  the 
farm  than  we  feel  willing  to  appropriate  for  that  purpose.  But 
fences  must  be  erected  at  all  events,  and  any  thing  that  will 
reflect  light  on  the  subject  of  fencing  the  farms  of  America,  in 
the  most  systematic  and  permanent  manner,  will  be  welcomed  by 
every  one  who  is  experimentally  acquainted  with  the  enormous 
expenses  which  attend  enclosing  the  fields  of  a  farm,  before  it 
would  be  prudent  to  commence  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

60.  Fencing  is  a  branch  of  labor,  in  the  operation  of  the  farm, 
which  requires  the  exercise  of  a  good  deal  of  wisdom  and  judg 
ment  in  selecting,  preparing,  arranging,  and  disposing  of  the 
materials  which  are  to  be  made  use  of  in  building  fences  in  the 
most  economical,  workmanlike,  substantial  and  durable  manner ; 
and  as  economy,  durability  and  substantialness  are  the  most  im 
portant  considerations,  as  a  general  rule,  in  building  a  fence  of 
any  kind,  and  as  there  is  a  variety  of  materials  to  be  worked  up 
into  fences,  the  preparation  of  materials  demands  our  first  atten 
tion.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  is  a  vast  destitution  of  eco 
nomy,  not  only  in  preparing  the  materials  for  fencing,  but  in 
working  up  those  materials.  The  very  best  of  materials,  when 
improperly  prepared,  fail  to  make  an  economical  and  substantial 
fence ;  and,  also,  the  best  of  fencing  materials,  when  unskillfully 
arranged  and  worked  up,  make  a  fence  far  inferior,  in  almost 
every  respect,  to  a  fence  made  of  materials  of  a  very  inferior 
quality,  which  has  been  well  made.  As  economy  in  preparing 
timber  for  fencing  is  an  object  of  the  first  importance,  when  the 
materials  are  of  wood,  we  shall  speak  of  the  best  and  most  suita 
ble  time  for  cutting  timber,  in  order  to  secure  its  greatest  dura 
bility,  when  it  is  to  be  split  into  rails,  as  well  as  when  it  is  to  be 
split  into  posts  and  stakes. 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  59 


THE    BEST    TIME    TO    CUT    TIMBEB. 

WHEN  autumn  comes,  and  leaves  are  dr7, 

And  rustle  on  the  ground, 
And  chilling  winds  go  whistling  by, 

With  moaning,  pensive  sound, 
Cut,  timber  then  for  posts,  and  beams,  and  rails, 
For  tongues,  and    thills,  for  whippletrees  and  stales." 

61.  Late  autumn  is  the  best  time  for  felling  timber  for  almost 
any  purpose;    and  it  is  particularly  so  when  timber  is  to  be 
worked  up  into  rails,  or  stakes,  or  posts  for  fencing.     At  that 
season  of  the  year,  the  new  wood  has  arrived  at  its  most  complete 
maturity,  and  there  is  less  sap  and  albumen  in  timber  then  than 
there  is  at  any  other  season  of  the  year,  which  albumen,  when 
exposed  to  the  influence  of  the  weather,  hastens  the  decay  of 
timber.     If  timber  be  cut  and  split  out  in  the  latter  part  of  autumn 
the  seasoning  process  is  much  more  gradual  and  perfect,  because 
the  grain  of  the  timber  contracts  more  equally  and  uniformly, 
rendering  the  timber  firmer  and  less  porous,  and  less  cracked  and 
checked  than  when  it  is  cut  at  many  other  seasons  of  the  year. 
Besides  this,  timber  that  is  cut  in  late  autumn  and  split  out  or 
sawed  out  before  spring,  will  not  "  powder  post,"  nor  be  injured  by 
the  worms  working  in  it,  nor  be  injured  by  the  dry  rot,  as  is  the  case 
with  timber  many  times,  %fhich  has  been  cut  at  some  other  season 
of  the  year.     Fence  posts  and  stakes  particularly,  no  matter  what 
the  kind  of  timber  may  be,  when  felled  and  split  out  in  late  autumn, 
will  outlast  other  posts  and  stakes  of  the  same  kind  of  timber 
which  may  be  cut  at  a  different  season  of  the  year,  by  several 
years,  according  to  the  time  when  it  may  be  cut.     Reason  teaches 
us  that  this  is  so,  and  the  experience  of  the  most  successful  ex 
periments  in  timber  furnish  the  most  indubitable  testimony  to 
substantiate  this  fact. 

62.  The  treatment  which  timber  receives  immediately  after  it 
has  been  felled,  effects  its  durability,  and  also  its  firmness  and 
tenacity,  to  a  much  greater  degree  than  many  are  wont  to  suppose. 
For  this  reason  many  farmers  in  experimenting  on  the  durability 
of  timber,  have  failed,  almost  entirely,  to  allow  this  consideration 


60  THE  YOUNG  FAKMER'S  MANUAL. 

to  have  any  influence  at  all.  If  timber  which  is  intended  for 
rails,  stakes  and  posts  be  felled  in  late  autumn,  and  allowed  to 
remain  in  the  log  for  six  or  eight  months,  or  half  that  length  of 
time,  with  some  kinds  of  timber,  its  durability  will  be  more  or 
less  affected,  according  to  the  kind  of  timber;  and  no  after- 
treatment  will  make  it  as  durable  as  it  would  have  been,  had  it 
been  split  out  immediately  and  placed  in  a  favorable  situation  for 
seasoning.  Timber  for  posts  or  stakes  ought  always  to  be  split 
out  and  seasoned  nearly  or  quite  one  year  before  they  are  set  in 
the  ground.  A  post  or  stake  which  is  set  in  the  ground  when  it 
is  green,  will  not  last  half  as  many  years,  as  a  general  rule,  as  it 
would  have  lasted  if  it  had  been  seasoned  well  before  it  is  set  in 
the  ground.  The  first  thing,  after  timber  has  been  felled,  is  to 
split  it  out  into  rails,  posts  and  stakes ;  therefore,  as  a  very  im 
portant  branch  of  fencing,  we  shall  treat  of 

SPLITTING   RAILS,    STAKES   AND    POSTS. 

63.  It  requires  the  exercise  of  a  little  good  skill  to  split  timber 
economically  into  rails,  stakes  or  posts.  Any  one  who  can  handle 
a  beetle  and  wedge,  can  split  fire-wood,  for  it  matters  little  how 
that  is  split ;  but  if  a  man  does  not  know  how  to  split  timber  straight, 
he  will  be  very  liable,  and,  indeed,  very  likely  to  spoil  a  vast  deal 
of  timber  when  splitting  up  a  tree.  The  truth  is,  if  he  does  not 
know  how  to  stick  the  wedges,  and  where  to  stick  them,  he  will 
be  very  apt  to  make  bad  work,  even  in  the  best  of  timber,  for 
splitting  well.  "When  we  split  fire  wood,  we  cleave-  it  the  best 
way  that  we  can,  and  if  it  slivers  to  pieces,  so  much  the  better. 
But  there  is  a  regular  rule  for  splitting  rails,  stakes,  posts,  wagon 
spokes,  staves,  and  every  thing  else,  and  if  one  does  not  observe 
this  rule,  he  will,  most  assuredly,  spoil  much  timber.  If  in  split 
ting  any  thing  for  fences,  some  pieces  have  huge  ends  at  one  end, 
and  are  run  out  to  a  mere  splinter  at  the  other  end ;  or  if  they 
are  not  all  of  about  a  uniform  size,  if  the  operator  does  not  under 
stand  his  business,  and  if  he  makes  many  short  pieces,  it  would 
be  the  wisest  policy  to  employ  some  one  else  who  will  not  waste 
so  much  timber. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  61 

64.  In  splitting  timber  for  anything,  it  is  best  to  set  the 
wedges  always  at  the  smallest  or  top  end  of  a  log,  should  there 
be  any  difference  in  the  ends.  If  there  are  no  large  checks  across 
the  end  of  a  log,  take  the  axe  in  one  hand,  and  the  beetle  in  the 
other,  and  make  a  crack  entirely  across  the  end  of  the  log,  so  as 
to  split  it  into  two  equal  parts.  If  there  is  a  large  crack  a  part 
of  the  way  across  the  end,  drive  in  the  axe  a  little  with  the  beetle, 
so  as  to  make  a  crack  entirely  across  the  end.  Generally  speak 
ing,  timber  splits  the  best  and  wastes  the  least,  by  setting  the 
wedges  in  an  Old  crack  or  seam.  But  sometimes  a  log  will  sepa 
rate  much  the  easiest  directly  across  the  old  check.  Now,  set  two 
iron  wedges  in  the  end  of  the  log,  and  drive  them  both  together, 
and  when  the  end  is  opened  sufficiently,  drive  in  gluts;  if  the 
wedges  have  been  set  in  the  middle  of  the  end,  the  log  will  sepa 
rate  usually  in  the  middle.  Should  it  vary  a  little  from  following 
the  middle  of  the  log,  it  is  better  to  let  it  go  where  it  will  than  to 
undertake  to  open  it  at  the  other  end,  so  as  to  meet  the  operation, 
which  is  attended  with  doubt  and  difficulty.  Sometimes  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  split  a  log  through  the  heart.  This  is  the 
case  many  times  with  black  ash,  and  elm,  and  buttonwood.  Logs 
many  times  have  a  seam  entirely  around  the  heart.  "When  this 
is  the  case,  it  will  require  a  vast  deal  of  unnecessary  pounding  to 
split  it  through  the  heart.  Such  logs  can  be  worked  up  far  more 
easily  and  economically  by  slabbing  them,  following  the  old  seams ; 
and  many  times  when  a  log  has  a  very  tough  heart,  even  if  there 
be  no  checks  nor  seams,  it  is  best  to  split  them  by  slabbing  off 
about  one-third  of  the  log  at  once ;  this  will  leave,  in  a  log  thirty 
inches  in  diameter,  a  heart  piece  about  ten  inches  square.  If, 
now,  the  timber  be  very  tough  and  stringy,  this  may  be  worked 
up  by  slabbing  it.  In  splitting  ordinary  timber,  the  builder  must 
keep  in  mind  that  a  round  stick  or  a  square  stick  cannot,  very 
well,  be  split  into  three  equal  parts;  because,  if  we  attempt  to 
split  off  one-third  of  it  at  a  time,  the  smaller  part  is  very  apt  to 
run  out  before  the  split  reaches  the  other  end.  Therefore,  if  a 
square  stick  be  about  large  enough  for  three  rails,  it  is  best  to 
split  it  through  the  centre,  and  then  split  the  two  halves  of  it  in 


62  THE  YOUNG  FAEMER5S  MANUAL. 

the  centre  again,  even  if  the  rails  should  be  a  little  too  small,  than 
to  undertake  to  split  it  into  three  equal  parts ;  or  if  such  a  stick, 
when  split  into  four  rails,  would  make  them  too  small,  it  would 
be  best  to  make  but  two  of  it,  even  if  they  were  a  little  larger 
than  we  could  desire.  We  cannot  always  have  every  rail,  stake 
or  post  exactly  of  the  size  we  may  wish,  but  the  aim  should 
always  be,  in  splitting  rails,  to  have  the  smallest  rails  equal  to  a 
stick  two  and  a  half  inches  square,  and  increasing  in  size,  so  that 
the  largest  rails  will  be  equal  to  a  stick  four  inches  square.  This 
is  a  very  good  rule  to  split  by,  but  if  thought  to  be  exceptionable, 
it  is  very  easy  to  split  in  two  those  rails  which  A  says  are  of  the 
right  size,  and  which  B  thinks  are  too  large  for  one  rail,  and  just 
right  for  two.  A  rail  about  three  inches  square,  or  equivalent  to 
that  size,  will  be  pronounced  by  the  great  majority  of  farmers  to 
be  a  more  desirable  size,  so  far  as  economy  and  convenience  are 
concerned,  than  a  rail  of  any  other  size.  When  a  man  has  a 
saw-mill  of  his  own,  and  timber  does  not  split  very  well,  it  might 
be  good  policy  to  saw  out  his  rails,  making  them  about  three 
inches  square  ; — but  the  same  timber  would  build  twice  as  much 
fence  if  it  were  sawed  into  boards. 

65.  Sometimes  rails  are  split  out  of  poles,  which  will  make 
from  two  to  eight  rails  each  ;  and  it  often  occurs  that  a  pole  would 
make  about  three  good  rails,  and  if  split  into  four  they  would  be 
too  small,  and  if  split  into  two  rails  they  would  be  rather  large. 
As  it  is  very  difficult,  and  usually  impracticable,  to  split  a  pole 
into  three,  or  five,  or  seven  equal  parts,  on  account  of  their  liability 
to  run  out  in  splitting,  if  a  pole  be  too  small  for  four  rails,  it  is 
best  to  make  but  two  of  it,  even  if  they  should  be  rather  large. 
When  a  pole  is  about  the  right  size  for  six  rails,  the  best  way  is 
to  split  the  pole  into  quarters,  as  nearly  as  we  can,  and  many 
times  one  of  the  quarters  will  be  large  enough  for  two  rails.  The 
idea  should  be  always  kept  in  mind,  that  the  rule  which  is  observed 
in  riving  staves,  wagon-spokes,  and  such  like,  is,  to  split  a  stick 
through  the  middle,  and  then  take  a  smaller  piece  and  split  that 
through  the  middle,  and  so  on  until  every  piece  or  bolt  is  reduced 
to  its  desirable  size.  When  a  log  or  rail  cut  will  make  about 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  63 

eight  good  rails,  the  true  way  is  to  quarter  it  first,  and  then  split 
those  quarters  in  two.  If  we  attempt  to  split  off  of  one  side  one 
rail,  in  most  timber  it  would  be  sure  to  run  out  before  it  would 
split  half  the  length  of  the  log.  The  following  cuts  will  furnish 
the  learner  with  a  more  correct  idea  how  a  large  log  is  to  be  split 
into  rails,  stakes,  or  posts.  In  the  first  place,  split  the  log  intc 
quarters,  if  practicable,  whether  it  is  to  be  split  into  rails,  stakes, 
or  posts.  Fig.  1 1  represents  one  of  those  quarters  split  into  rails. 
After  a  log  has  been  split  into  quarters,  split  FIG.  11. 

the  quarter  in  two  again,  as  nearly  in  the 
middle  as  may  be.  If  the  workman  cannot 
stick  his  wedge  within  half  an  inch  of  the 
centre  of  a  quarter  of  a  log  at  sight,  he  had 
better  measure  the  distance.  Now  split  these 
pieces,  first  in  the  direction  a  a  a,  then  split 
off  the  heart  rail  b  b,  then  split  c  c,  and  we 
have  three  rails.  Split  the  other  heart  piece,  QUARTER  OF  L00 
like  the  first,  into  three  rails ;  split  the  sap 
pieces  at  c?,  and  split  each  piece  at  e  e.  Sometimes  it  is  better  to 
set  the  wedge  in  the  middle  of  a  stick,  half-way  from  each  end, 
then  to  set  it  at  the  end,  when  splitting  a  piece  that  will  make  two 
rails,  as  at  c  c,  for  example.  When  a  wedge  is  set  half-way  from 
each  end,  in  the  middle  of  the  stick,  if  the  crack  does  not  run  in 
the  middle,  each  way  from  the  wedge,  sometimes  a  blow  or  two 
with  an  axe  will  start  it,  so  as  to  make  it  split  in  the  middle  ;  and 
sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  set  another  wedge  half-way  between 
the  middle  and  the  end.  A  little  practice  will  enable  the  builder, 
if  he  has  a  little  good  skill,  to  split  timber  very  accurately,  with 
out  spoiling  but  few  pieces.  The  same  rules  are  observed  in 
splitting  stakes  as  in  splitting  rails;  only  it  is  necessary,  first,  in 
splitting  a  quarter,  to  make  a  little  estimate  how  many  pieces  a 
quarter  or  an  eighth  of  a  log  will  make.  In  splitting  fence 
posts  it  frequently  occurs  that  a  piece  is  too  large  for  one  post, 
and  too  small  for  two  posts.  In  such  a  case,  if  a  stake  cannot  be 
split  off  without  its  running  out,  it  is  best  not  to  attempt  to  split 
it  again,  lest  both  pieces  be  spoiled. 
3* 


64 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


66.  In  splitting  bar-posts,  or  any  pieces  that  are  required  to 
be  thin  and  wide,  first  split  the  log  in  two,  and  if  it  is  a  large  one 
quarter  it.  Make  calculations  how  many  posts  a  quarter  will 
make,  splitting  from  the  heart  to  the  bark.  If  a  quarter  will 
make  four,  split  it  in  the  centre,  and  these  pieces  again  in  the 
centre.  If  they  are  wider  than  necessary,  take  off  a  stake  from 
the  heart  side,  as  at  Fig.  12.  If  half  a  log  will  make  about  six 
posts,  it  is  not  best  to  quarter  it  first,  because  FJQ.  12. 
each  piece  then  would  contain  timber  enough 
for  three  posts  each,  and  there  would  be  dan 
ger  of  spoiling  a  post  in  attempting  to  split 
only  one  post  from  a  stick  which  is  large 
enough  for  three  ;  therefore,  divide  the  half 
log  into  three  equal  parts,  and  first  split  off  a 
piece  large  enough  for  two  posts,  and  ^^ 
split  the  pieces  in  two  in  the  middle.  The  POSTS- 

workman  would  do  well,  after  opening  the  end  a  little,  to  set  a 
wedge  or  two  in  the  side  of  the  stick,  to  prevent  its  running 
out,  and  drive  all  the  wedges  at  once,  or  drive  that  wedge  the 
most  which  seems  to  split  the  truest  and  straightest.  When  tim 
ber  is  not  inclined  to  split  exactly  straight,  by  tracing  it  with  the 
axe  and  beetle  the  whole  length  of  the  stick  it  can  be  made  to 
split  tolerably  straight.  In  splitting  a  log  eight  or  ten  inches  in 
diameter  into  bar-posts,  or  any  other  wide  posts,  make  an  esti 
mate  how  many  a  log  will  make  ;  if  it  will  make  four,  split  it 
through  the  centre,  and  then,  by  tracing  or  starting  it  a  little  with 

FIG.  13. 


MANNER  OF  SPLITTING  A  LOG  INTO   FOUR    POSTS. 

the  axe  and  beetle  on  the  side,  the  two  halves  may  be  split  in 
two  again  the  wide  way,  as  represented  by  Fig.  13.     Fig.  14 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  65 

shows  how  a  log  may  be  split  into  three  bar-posts  by  tracing  on 
the  sides  as  the  wedges  are  driven  in  the  end.  "We  first  take  off 
a  slab,  and  if  the  timber  does  not  split  rather  freely  it  is  very  lia- 

FIG.  14. 


MANNER    OF    SPLITTING    A    LOG    INTO    TUREE    BAR-POSTS. 

ble  to  run  out  and  spoil  a  post.     It  is  very  impracticable  to  give 
a  perfect  idea  on  paper  of  splitting  timber  correctly. 

THE    LENGTH    OF    RAILS   AND    STAKES. 

67.  The  most  common  length  for  rails  is  twelve  feet,  although 
many  farmers  make  them  ten,  eleven,  and  even  fourteen  feet  in 
length ;  but  when  we  consult  convenience  and  economy  in  split 
ting  and  handling,  as  a  general  rule  twelve  feet  for  rails  is  the 
best  length.     If  timber  should  split  very  freely,  there  is  no  objec 
tion  to  cutting  them  fourteen  feet  long ;  on  the  contrary,  if  timber 
should  not  split  well  it  might  be  a  matter  of  good  economy  to  cut 
them  ten  or  eleven  feet  long ;  but  there  ought  to  be  a  uniform 
length  for  rails  on  every  farm,  because  when  rails  are  of  different 
lengths  there  will  be  more  or  less  disadvantage  in  making  them 
into  a  fence.     Large  logs  should  be  sawed  in  two,  just  twelve 
feet  long,  and  smaller  logs  may  be  cut  with  an  axe ;  and  as  every 
rail  cut  should  be  measured  with  a  pole  just  twelve  feet  long, 
each  cut  should  be  measured  from  the  middle  of  the  chip,  or  axe- 
cut,  and  the  top  end  of  each  cut  should  be  left  square ;  this  will 
make  the  heart  rails  a  little  longer  than  the  outside  rails.     But  in 
laying  the  foundation  for  a  fence,  if  there  should  be  a  little  varia 
tion  in  the  length  of  rails,  it  should  be  remembered  to  select  i|rsf, 
the  sap  rails,  and  if  the  heart  rails  project  a  litt}e  m^re  than  is 
necessary  at  the  joints,  it  will  do  no  haym, 

68.  The  length  of  stakes  should  always  be  rcgu.la.tecl  by  t}io 


66  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

kheight  of  the  fence.  They  are  usually  cut  from  seven  to  nine 
feet  in  length  ;  but  whatever  length  may  be  adopted,  it  should  be 
kept  in  mind  that  stakes  should  be  cut  long  enough  to  admit  of 
being  set  the  second  time,  after  the  end  which  has  been  set  in  the 
ground  has  rotted  off.  The  part  of  stakes  out  of  the  ground  will 
usually  last  twice  as  long  as  the  part  in  the  ground,  no  matter 
what  the  timber  may  be.  Therefore,  if  stakes  be  cut  just  long 
enough  to  be  set  but  once,  after  one  end  is  decayed,  so  that  they 
need  re-setting,  they  are  worthless ;  but  by  cutting  them  long 
enough  to  be  set  again  after  a  foot  or  so  has  rotted,  it  is  much 
more  economical  than  to  make  new  stakes  as  often  as  the  ends 
rot  or  decay  enough  to  render  them  too  short  for  the  fence. 

69.  Some  farmers  deem  it  a  matter  of  economy  to  cut  their 
fence  posts,  and  particularly  bar-posts,  long  enough  to  admit  of 
the  other  end  being  set  in  the  ground  after  one  end  has  decayed. 
But  there  are  very  plausible  objections  to  this  practice.     Fence 
posts  which  extend  from  two  to  three  feet  above  the  fence  present 
an  unsightly  appearance,  and,  besides,  the  longer  the  post  is  the 
more  liable  it  is  to  deviate  from  standing  erect.     Bar-posts  which 
extend  three  feet  higher  than  they  ought  to  are  a  nuisance,  because 
they  are  always  in  the  way,  especially  when  one  is  passing  with 
a  load  of  hay  or  grain. 

PEELING    RAILS   AND    STAKES. 

70.  This  should  always  be  done  when  they    are  split  out,  so 
that  they  may  season  the  better.     It  requires  but  a  little  time  to 
peel  them  when  splitting  them,  and  as  rails  and  stakes  are  often 
split  by  the  job,  at  so  much  per  hundred,  a  man  will  usually  split 
them,  peel  them,  and  stick  them  up,  for  a  few  cents  more  per  hun 
dred  than  he  will  ask  for  simply  splitting  them,  providing  one  in 
sists  on  it  when  negotiating  about  splitting.   ;  When  timber  is  cut 
in  the  fall,  it  is  true,  it  does  not  peel  as  well  as  when  cut  in  the 
summer,  but  as  a  general  rule  it  will  peel  tolerably  well  after  it  is 
split  out,  even  when  cut  in  autumn.     When  the  bark  is  thick  and 
heavy  it  will  peel  about  as  well  from  small  pieces,  like  rails  and 
stakes,  as  it  will  when  the  timber  is  cut  in  the  summer.     But 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL.  67 

the  bark  should  be  taken  off  at  some  rate ;  and  when  it  adheres 
so  tightly  that  it  is  necessary  to  cut  it  off,  it  may  be  cut  off  at 
each  end  about  a  foot  or  so  and  laid  in  the  fence,  with  the  bark 
downwards,  and  during  the  summer  it  will  usually  become  so  loose 
as  to  drop  off  itself;  but  if  it  is  not  held  in  the  joints  of  the  fence, 
it  may  be  stripped  off  very  readily  after  one  end  is  loosened  a 
little,  and  if  the  rail  be  laid  with  the  bark  down  it  will  become 
loose  by  the  drying  of  the  rail.  When  rails  are  made  of  timber 
having  a  very  thin  bark,  like  iron- wood,  for  example,  the  most 
expeditious  way  of  peeling  them  is  to  lay  the  rail  to  be  peeled  on 
a  couple  of  benches,  and  then  with  a  drawing-knife  shave  off  the 
bark  while  the  workman  is  sitting  on  it.  When  small  poles  are 
used  for  rails,  if  they  are  not  peeled  entirely  a  strip  of  bark  should 
be  taken  off  on  two  sides  opposite  to  each  other,  and  one  of  the 
peeled  sides  laid  upward  in  the  fence  ;  by  this  means  the  bark 
will  become  loose  during  the  season,  and  many  times  drop  off 
itself.  Rails,  stakes,  posts,  and  timber  of  every  other  description, 
will  be  very  much  more  durable  if  peeled,  unless  it  is  buried  in 
the  ground.  When  a  stick  is  two  feet  or  more  under  ground,  it 
will  last  much  longer  if  the  bark  be  left  on ;  but  if  the  bark  be 
left  on  a  fence  post,  the  part  of  it  two  feet  below  the  surface 
will  be  more  durable  with  the  bark  on  than  if  it  were  off.  But 
that  same  post  will  rot  off  at  the  surface  of  the  ground  many  years 
sooner  if  the  bark  was  left  on  than  if  it  was  peeled  before  it 
was  set.  Bark  preserves  timber  when  it  is  alive,  but  after  it 
has  been  cut  down  it  hastens  its  decay,  when  it  is  exposed  to  the 
influences  of  the  weather,  wet  and  dry.  When  the  bark  is  not 
taken  off,  worms  damage  rails  and  posts  of  many  kinds  of  timber. 
Allowing  rails  to  soak  in  a  pond  of  water  for  a  few  days  will  gen 
erally  loosen  the  bark  so  that  it  may  be  peeled  off  very  quickly. 

DISTRIBUTING    RAILS    FOR    FENCE. 

^1.  It  is  a  very  common  thing  for  many  farmers,  in  hauling 
rails  and  stakes  where  a  fence  is  to  be  made,  to  distribute  them, 
as  to  number,  entirely  at  random,  without  any  calculation  at  all 
how  many  will  be  needed  for  a  fence  of  a  given  number  of  rails 


68  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

high,  and  therefore  in  some  places  twice  as  many  rails  are  un 
loaded  as  are  necessary,  while  in  other  places  there  are  not  half 
enough.  Sometimes  there  may  be  just  enough  to  build  the  fence, 
but  they  have  been  distributed  so  unevenly  that  many  of  them 
must  be  carried  too  far.  "When  a  man  is  obliged  to  go  twenty 
or  thirty  feet  for  every  rail,  it  will  take  him  twice  as  long  to  lay 
up  a  fence  as  it  would  were  the  rails  left  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
place  where  they  will  be  needed.  It  is  a  very  easy  matter  to 
distribute  rails  for  a  fence  so  that  there  will  be  just  enough  to 
build  it,  and  it  argues  a  little  stupidity  and  want  of  calculation  to 
see  one  distribute  rails  in  such  a  manner  that  after  the  fence  is 
finished  there  are  several  loads  to  haul  away.  That  is  all  lost 
labor ;  and  it  will  consume  several  hours  to  haul  and  unload,  and 
reload  and  haul  away,  two  or  three  loads  of  rails. 

72.  In  distributing  rails  for  a  fence,  in  the  first  place  set  a  few 
stakes  where  the  fence  is  to  be  built.  Now  calculate  how  many 
panels  there  will  be  in  five  or  six  rods.  We  will  say  there  are 
thirty  paces  in  six  rods.  If  the  foundation  is  not  laid,  the  rails 
may  be  laid  for  thirty  paces  or  so,  in  a  straight  line,  or  zigzag, 
like  a  worm  fence,  and  then,  by  counting  the  number  of  panels 
in  thirty  paces,  and  by  multiplying  the  number  of  panels  by  the 
number  of  rails  in  one  panel,  we  shall  know  how  many  rails  are 
wanted  in  a  distance  of  thirty  paces.  Now,  let  the  number  of 
rails  required  in  thirty  paces  be  distributed  close  to  the  place 
where  the  fence  is  to  be  made,  and  put  them  in  small  piles,  with 
not  more  than  ten  in  a  pile,  so  that  they  will  be  near  at  hand, 
and  be  well  spread  out,  so  that  small  rails  can  be  selected,  if  neces 
sary,  without  tumbling  over  half  a  load.  Never  leave  them  with 
nearly  a  load  in  a  pile,  nor  in  the  place  where  the  fence  is  to  be 
built,  lest  they  have  to  be  removed ;  nor  a  rod  or  two  distant, 
for  fear  they  may  be  in  the  way.  Now  pace  off  thirty  paces 
more — it  can  be  done  in  less  than  one  minute — and  drop  as  many 
more  rails,  and  in  the  same  order,  and  proceed  in  this  manner 
until  a  job  is  finished.  When  the  foundation,  or  the  first  rail  is 
laid,  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to  make  calculations  for  hauling  just 
enough  to  make  a  fence. 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  69 

73.  Rails  of  one  kind  of  timber  should  always  be  left  to 
gether,   and  rails   of   another  kind  of  timber,   unless  they   are 
equally  durable,  should  be  kept  by  themselves,  because,  when  oak 
and  basswood  are  laid  together,  the  basswood  will  decay  long 
before  the  oak,  and  the  result  will  be,  the  entire  fence  must  be 
repaired ;  whereas,  if  the  oak  had  been  kept  together,  and  the 
basswood  together,  no  part  would  need  repairing  but  the  basswood. 
For  the  same  reason,  new  rails  should  always  be  kept  together, 
when  repairing  fence ;  and  take  old  ones  to  supply  the  place  of 
those  which  have   decayed.     When  one  is  hauling  rails  which 
are  to  be  laid  in  a  fence  immediately,  it  is  much  quicker  to  take 
the  rails  from  the  wagon  and  lay  them  in  the  fence,  than  to  throw 
them  on  the  ground  and  then  pick  them  up  again  and  lay  them 
in  the  fence. 

74.  When  the  stakes  are  to  be  hauled  let  them  be  placed 
near  each  joint  of  the  fence,  with  one  on  each  side  of  it ;  because 
it  will  save  the  time  of  picking  them  up.     When  the  foundation 
is  not  laid,  if  we  know  how  many  panels  there  will  be  in  a  given 
distance,  it  is  easy  to  calculate  that  two  stakes  will  be  required 
for  each  panel,  whether  the  fence  is  to  be  zigzag  or  straight. 

PENCE     BLOCKS. 

75.  These  are  a  very  important  item  in  building  fence.      It  is 
very  poor  policy  to  place  rails  on  the  ground  or  on  perishable 
materials  which  will    soon  let  the  fence  down  to  the  ground. 
Bowlders,  from  ten  to  twenty-five  inches  in  diameter,  make  the 
best  blocks.     When  one  is  a  little  too  large,  let  a  hole  be  dug  a 
foot  or  so  deep,  and  roll  it  in.      When  one  is  a  little  too  small, 
put  it  on  the  top  of  a  flat  stone.     A  small  pile  of  small  bowlders, 
or  little  stones  of  any  kind,  will  make  a  very  good  block  for  a 
corner  to  rest  on.     When  wood  is  used  for  blocks,  always  place 
the  bark  side  down,  if  possible,  because  they  will  last  many  years 
longer  than  if  the  bark  side  is   up.       When  a  round  stick   is 
used  for  a  block,  let  it  be  peeled,  if  practicable ;  but,  if  not,  cut 
off  a  strip  of  bark,  three  or  four  inches  wide,  on  one  side,  and 


70  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

lay  that  side  up,  and  then,  as  it  seasons,  the  bark  will  usually 
become  loose,  but  if  the  bark  be  left  on  the  top  of  blocks  it  will 
always  hasten  their  decay.  Sometimes  a  couple  of  good  pieces  of 
broken  rails  will  make  a  very  good  fence  block.  Flat  stones,  a  foot 
square,  or  more,  laid  on  the  top  of  a  little  mound  of  earth,  or 
on  the  top  of  two  or  three  sods,  will  make  capital  fence  blocks. 
When  one  has  a  plenty  of  small  stone,  it  is  good  policy  to  make 
a  ridge  of  stone,  a  foot  or  so  high,  and  lay  the  fence  on  the  top 
of  it.  This  will  answer  both  for  a  straight  fence  and  for  a  zig 
zag  fence.  Where  no  stone  can  be  found,  and  wooden  blocks 
are  scarce,  make  a  fence  block  with  square  sods,  and  lay  on  a 
piece  of  board,  or  slab,  or  two  or  three  short  pieces  of  old  rails. 
Let  the  fence  be  kept  well  up  from  the  ground,  at  all  events.  When 
a  foundation  corner  is  made  of  earth,  or  sods,  the  sides  should  be 
covered  with  sods,  to  prevent  them  from  washing  away  in  heavy 
showers. 


MAKING  A  ZIGZAG,  OR  WORM  FENCE. 

76.  In  making  a  zigzag  fence  of  rails,  there  are  two  modes  of 
laying  the  bottom  rail,  by  stakes,  which  I  shall  lay  down,  in  order 
to  have  the  fence  straight.     And   when  a  fence  is  to  remain  for 
a  number  of  years,  or  is  to  be  a  permanent  fence,  it  ought  always 
to  be  straight ;  but  in  making  a  temporary  fence,  if  a  man  is  me 
chanic  enough  to  give  the  fence  the  necessary  worm,  he  may  lay 
the  bottom  rail  by  guess.     But  the  beginner  had  better   have 
some  stakes  to  guide  him ;  because,  if  he  does  not,  he  will  be  sure 
to  give  some   parts   of  it  much  more  worm   or  crook   than  is 
necessary,  and  give  other  parts  so  little  worm  that  it  will  barely 
stand  alone.     When  a  fence  has  too  much  worm,  or  crook,  it  is 
a  good  fault ;  it  will  stand  more  firmly, — but  it  requires  more  rails. 
But  when  it  has  but  little  worm,  it  requires  less  rails ;    and  the 
first  driving  storm  may  throw  it  from  its  foundation,  and  prostrate 
it. 

77.  The  first  step,  then,  will  be,  to  set  a  number  of  small,  thin 
stakes,  six  or  seven  feet  high,  in  a  line,  where  the  middle  of  the 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL.  71 

fence  is  to  be  made.  Now  make  a  fence  rule,  Fig.  15,  which  consists 
FIG  15  °^  a  stick>  either  round  or  square,  about  seven  feet 
in  length,  as  large  as  a  fork  handle,  and  pointed 
at  the  lower  end.  If  the  ground  be  stony  and 
hard,  the  lower  end  ought  to  be  fitted  to  an  iron 
socket,  pointed.  Bore  several  half-inch  holes 
through  it,  for  the  rod  R,  which  should  be  made 
of  a  very  tough  piece  of  wood,  about  as  large 
and  elastic  as  a  good  whip-stalk.  This  rod  should 
be  about  three  feet  long;  and  then  it  may  be 
graduated,  by  making  a  mark  for  two  feet,  and 
for  two  feet  three  inches,  six,  and  nine  inches. 
This  rod  should  be  merely  pressed  into  a  hole, 
_j ?  without  fastening  it,  so  that  when  laying  a  foun 
dation  on  very  high  or  low  blocks,  it  may  be 
raised  or  lowered,  as  may  be  necessary.  Always 
work  up  hill,  in  laying  any  kind  of  rail  fence  ; 
because,  when  we  begin  at  the  bottom  of  a  decliv 
ity  and  work  upwards,  the  rails  will  lay  more  level  than  the  incli 
nation  of  the  ground;  and,  if  we  work  down  a  declivity,  the  rails  will 
be  more  inclined  than  the  ground,  and  will  not  stand  as  firmly  as  if 
it  were  made  by  working  up  hill.  When  a  string  of  fence  extends 
over  rolling  or  undulating  land,  the  proper  mode  of  making  it  is, 
to  lay  the  bottom  rail  the  whole  distance,  and  then  go  back  and 
change  those  corners  in  that  part  of  the  fence  which  was  laid  by 
beginning  at  the  top  a  declivity,  so  that  in  laying  up  more  rails 
the  operator  can  work  up  hill,  both  ways,  from  a  valley.  The 
next  thing  in  order  will  be  to  decide  upon 

THE  AMOUNT  OF  WORM,  OR  CROOK,  FOR  A  FENCE. 

78.  The  length  of  rails  must  usually  determine  the  amount  of 
worm  for  a  fence.  Long  rails  require  much  more  worm,  or  crook, 
than  short  ones,  in  order  to  have  the  corners  of  each  kind  of  rails 
of  the  same  angle.  Suppose,  for  example,  that  rails  are  nine  feet 
long,  and  we  wish  to  give  the  fence  which  is  made  of  them  three 
feet  worm,  i.  e.,  the  fence  will  occupy,  measuring  across  the  fence, 


A  FK.VCE  RULE. 


72  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

three  feet  of  ground,  from  ^he  centre  of  one  joint  to  the  other. 
Now,  if  rails  are  fourteen  feet  in  length,  in  order  to  give  the  cor 
ners  the  same  angle  of  the  nine  feet  rails,  we  must  give  these  rails 
a  crook  of  four  feet  eight  inches,  measuring  from  the  centre  of 
one  joint  to  a  point  opposite  it,  in  a  line  with  the  joints  on  the 
other  side  of  the  fence.  "Where  fence  is  to  be  staked,  the  rule  for 
the  amount  of  worm  which  is  most  commonly  adopted  is,  that 
it  be  equal  to  one-third  the  length  of  the  rails.  This  is  enough 
for  any  fence  that  is  well  staked ;  and  where  a  fence  will  not  be 
exposed  to  furious  winds,  it  may  answer  just  as  good  a  purpose 
to  give  it  less  than  one-third  the  length  of  the  rails.  But  where  a 
fence  is  not  to  be  staked,  and  the  rails  are  rather  light,  the  worm 
should  be  increased  so  as  to  be  at  least  five-twelfths  the  length 
of  the  rails,  and  sometimes  even  more  than  this. 

79.  If  the  stakes  are  all  stuck  in  a  line,  plant  the  fence  rule 
(Fig.  15)  in  a  line  with  the  stakes,  where  we  are  to  commence 
laying  the  foundation,  having   the  rod  R  standing  at  a   right 
angle  to  the  right  or  left  of  the  line  which  would  cut  the  fence 
rule  staff  and  the  stakes.     If  the  fence  is  to  have  a  worm  of  four 
feet,  which  is  about  right  for  rails  twelve  feet  in  length,  place  a 
fence  block  under  the  rod  R,  so  that  the  centre  of  the  block  will 
be  just  under  the  two  feet  mark,  from  the  rule  staff.     Lay  on  a 
good  straight  rail,  and  carry  the  rule  forward ;  and  plant  it  down, 
in  a  line  with  the  stakes,  nearly  opposite  the  other  end  of  the  rail, 
with  the  rod  R  extending  in  the  opposite  direction.     Place  a  block 
beneath  the  two  feet  mark  on  the  rod  R,  and  lay  on  the  end  of  the 
first  rail,  and  then  lay  on  another  rail  and  carry  the  rule  along, 
and  lay  another  block  in  a  line  with  the  first  block,  and  so  on. 

80.  Many  fence-makers,  in  laying  up  rails,  have  the   ends  of 
the  rails  extend  beyond  the  points  of  conjunction  at  the  corners 
about  one  foot.     But  this  practice  uses  up  more  rails  than  is  neces 
sary  to  build  a  fence  a  given  number  of  rods  in  length;  and,  besides, 
when  the  ends  of  the  rails  extend  beyond  the  joint  from  ten  to 
twelve  inches,  a  fence  does  not  look  as  well,  and  is  far  more  liable 
to  be  thrown  down,  by  the  whippletrees  catching  it,  or  cattle  rub- 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  73 

bing  against  it.  If  the  ends  of  the  rails  extend  three  or  four  inches 
beyond  the  joint,  a  fence  is  no  more  liable  to  be  thrown  down  than 
if  the  same  rails  extended  a  foot  beyond  the  joint.  It  is  very 
important  that  all  the  rails  should  lie,  at  the  joints,  one  directly 
above  the  other.  The  smallest  rails  should  always  be  laid  at 
the  bottom  of  the  fence ;  and  the  largest  ones,  if  there  be  any 
difference  in  the  size  of  them,  should  be  laid  on  the  top,  as  heavy 
rails  on  the  top  render  a  fence,  whether  it  is  staked  or  not,  much 
more  substantial  than  if  the  large  rails  were  in  the  middle  of  the 
panels,  with  small  ones  on  the  top.  If  there  should  be  any  differ 
ence  in  the  size  of  the  ends  of  the  rails,  the  large  end  should  be 
laid  at  the  lowest  corner.  When  there  are  many  crooked  rails, 
make  a  panel  or  two  of  crooked  rails,  placing  those  together  that 
are  of  nearly  a  uniform  crook.  If  there  are  but  few  crooked 
ones,  reserve  them  for  the  top  of  the  fence.  After  a  fence  is  laid 
three  or  four  rails  high,  if  flat  stones,  three  or  four  inches  thick, 
are  at  hand,  it  is  a  good  practice  to  lay  one  on  each  joint,  as  they 
will  make  the  fence  about  one  rail  higher,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
it  will  subserve  just  as  good  a  purpose  as  if  a  rail  was  in  the  place 
of  the  stones.  And  another  advantage  is,  flat  stones  laid  on  the 
joints  will  turn  the  water  from  the  joints,  and  render  them  more 
durable,  as  rails  often  rot  at  the  joints  in  consequence  of  the  wet 
finding  its  way  there  and  not  drying  out.  A  large  flat  block  of 
wood  will  answer  for  this  purpose,  in  the  absence  of  flat  stone. 
Roundish  stones  in  such  a  place  would  be  liable  to  throw  the  fence 
down.  Low  corners  of  a  fence  may  be  brought  up  level  with 
the  others  by  laying  on  a  flat  stone  between  every  two  rails. 

81.  Another  mode  of  laying  the  foundation  of  a  worm  fence, 
which  some  people  prefer  to  laying  with  a  fence  rule,  is,  to  set 
two  rows  of  small  stakes  the  whole  distance  where  the  fence  is 
to  be  built,  with  the  rows  just  as  many  feet  apart  as  there  is  to 
be  given  to  the  worm  of  the  fence.  If  the  worm  is  to  be  four  feet, 
set  the  rows  four  feet  apart ;  if  the  worm  is  five  feet,  set  the  rows 
of  stakes  five  feet  apart.  Now  lay  a  fence  block  in  range  with 
one  of  the  rows  of  stakes,  and  lay  on  a  rail  diagonally  from  one 
row  to  the  other;  then  lay  another  fence  block  in  range  with 


74  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

the  other  row  tinder  the  other  end  of  the  rail,  and  so  on.  In 
order  to  ascertain  whether  the  block  is  in  range  with  the  stakes, 
stand  in  range  with  the  stakes,  and  set  a  stick,  about  as  large  as 
a  common  fork-handle,  perpendicularly,  on  the  top  of  the  block 
before  you,  and  if  when  it  stands  in  the  middle  of  the  block  it 
is  in  range  with  the  stakes,  the  block  is  in  the  proper  place.  By 
placing  the  trying  stake,  or  stick,  in  range  with  the  rows,  the 
workman  will  readily  perceive  which  way  the  block,  or  corner, 
must  be  moved,  in  order  to  bring  the  corner  in  range  with  the 
stakes. 

82.  There   are  other  modes  of  laying  the  foundation  by  stakes, 
but  they   are  so  inferior  to   those   already    mentioned  that   we 
shall  omit  to  notice  them. 

83.  A  common  worm  fence  may  be  staked  and  capped,  staked 
and  ridered,  staked  and  wired,  locked   and  ridered,  or  it  may 
merely  be  laid  up  without  either  stakes  or  riders  or  locks;  but 
whichever  mode  is  adopted,  the  operation  of  laying  the  foundation 
and  of  building  the  fence  several  rails  high  is  the  same  in  each 
kind  of  fence,  with  the  exception  that  a  staked  fence  does  not 
require  as  much  worm  as  one  that  is  not  staked. 

LOCK    AND    RIDER    FENCE. 

84.  Fig.  16  represents  the  manner  of  finishing  a  worm  fence 
with  locks  and  riders,  which  will  resist  the  wind  as  well  as  some 
staked  fences.     The  fence  is  first  laid  as  many  rails  high  as  is 
desired ;  and  then  the  largest   rails  are  laid  in  a  straight  line, 
from  panel  to  panel,  as  in  the  figure.     The  locks  may  be  good 
stakes,    or   pieces    of  FIG    lg 

rails,   placed    in    the 

nook  of  the  fence  for-  ^^s^  XX<O£NV  Xx' 

med  by  two   panels,       c^ 

and  inclined  into  the 

corner  formed  by  the 

top  rail  and  rider.  The  LOOK  AND  EIDBK  FBNCE- 

dots  in  the  figure  show  about  where  the  foot  of  the  locks  should 

be  placed.     The  locks  are  not  usually  set  in  a  hole  in  the  ground, 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  75 

although  if  they  were  the  fence  would  be  stronger.  Sometimes 
the  riders  in  this  kind  of  fence  may  be  long  poles,  extending  the 
distance  of  several  panels.  Long  poles  are  much  better  than  rails 
for  riders. 

85.  Another  mode  for  locking  a  fence  is  shown  by  Fig.  17. 
The  fence  is  first  made  as  high  as  it  is  to  be  made,  and  then  the 
locks,  which  may  be  of  good  rails,  or  stakes,  or  pieces  of  rails,  are 

FIG.  17. 


A  LOCK  RAIL  FENCE. 


stuck  in  the  ground,  as  shown  by  the  dots,  or  circles,  and  leaned 
on  the  corners,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines.  In  locking  in  this 
manner  the  builder  must  exercise  a  little  skill,  if  he  has  any,  in 
regard  to  setting  the  locks  so  as  to  bind  well.  If  they  are  not 
placed  on  the  correct  side  of  each  other,  they  will  not  lock  the 
fence,  by  wedging,  any  more  than  their  own  gravity  will  lock  it. 
It  is  not  very  convenient  to  show  on  paper  which  lock  should  be 
on  the  outside,  and  which  on  the  inside.  If  the  builder  has  any 
skill,  he  can  alter  the  position  of  a  pair  of  locks  until  they  seem 
to  wedge,  or  bind,  more  than  they  will  in  any  other  position,  and 
then  let  the  position  of  those  locks  be  carefully  observed,  and  let 
him  endeavor  to  set  the  rest  as  nearly  like  them  as  is  practicable. 
They  should  not  be  set  too  perpendicularly,  nor  too  slanting, 
because  if  set  too  slanting  they  will  not  resist  as  great  force  as  if 
they  stand  more  perpendicularly ;  and  if  they  be  set  too  perpen 
dicularly,  the  lock  is  not  as  binding ;  and  if  the  locks  extend  sev 
eral  feet  above  the  fence,  the  wind  is  very  liable  to  blow  them 
over.  If  the  locks  be  small  stakes,  or  small  rails,  the  foot  of  them 
must  be  placed  almost  close  to  the  side  of  the  panel  which  it 
locks ;  but  if  they  be  large,  they  must  be  placed  farther  away 


76  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

from  the  panel.  Locking  a  fence  is  adopted  more  for  a  temporary 
fence  than  for  one  which  is  to  remain  for  a  number  of  years ;  and 
when  stakes  are  at  hand  for  locking,  and  a  fence  encloses  a  field 
of  grain,  it  is  more  safe  for  the  security  of  a  crop  to  stake  it,  even 
if  it  were  to  remain  but  one  season.  A  locked  fence  is  always 
getting  down ;  and  when  a  fence  stands  in  a  very  bleak  situation, 
where  the  wind  is  liable  to  prostrate  it,  it  is  folly  to  attempt  to 
keep  it  up  without  having  it  firmly  staked.  Locking  a  fence  ac 
cording  to  the  first  mode  of  locking  may  be  adopted  with  safety, 
providing  the  last  rails,  which  extend  from  panel  to  panel,  are 
very  heavy,  and  the  locks  well  rammed  into  the  ground. 

STAKE    AND    CAP    FENCE. 

86.  Fig.  18  represents  two  different  modes  of  staking  a  zigzag 
fence.  The  black  dots  show  the  situation  of  the  stakes.  After 
the  foundation  has  been  laid  the  stakes  may  be  driven,  or  the 
fence  may  be  made  four  or  five  rails  high  before  the  stakes  are 
stuck.  In  either  case  the  holes  should  be  made  with  a  crowbar, 

FIG.  18. 


STAKE  AND   CAP  FENCE. 


at  least  twenty  inches  deep ;  and  then,  as  one  man  stands  on  a 
bench,  and  drives  them  with  a  sledge-hammer,  another  man  should 
keep  them  erect.  In  order  to  expedite  setting  the  stakes,  let  the 
holes  all  be  made  first ;  and  then  let  one  hand  get  the  stakes  and 
place  them  in  the  holes,  and  hold  them  while  another  man  lays 
his  sledge  hammer  on  his  bench  and  carries  them  along,  from 
joint  to  joint,  and  drives  the  stakes.  Let  the  stakes  all  be  sharp 
ened  for  driving,  and  the  top  ends  dressed  off,  so  that  the  caps 
will  go  on  readily  before  they  are  brought  on  to  the  ground.  The 
most  expeditious  way  to  sharpen  a  lot  of  stakes  is,  to  have  a 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.         77 

large  flat  block  of  wood  for  the  stake  to  stand  on,  while  it  is  held 
erect  with  one  hand  arid  sharpened  with  an  axe  in  the  other 
hand.  Cut  a  little  hollow  in  the  top  of  the  block  so  that  the 
stakes,  when  being  sharpened,  will  not  slip  off  the  block.  The 
stakes  must  be  sharpened  true,  or  else  they  will  not  drive  well. 
(See  SHAKPENING  POSTS,  paragraph  79.)  When  the  fence  is 
made  four,  five,  or  six  rails  high,  as  may  suit  the  caprice  of  the 
builder,  the  caps  are  put  on,  and  then  one  or  two  rails  more  are 
laid  on  the  fence.  If  stone  can  be  obtained  of  sufficient  size, 
one  may  be  put  between  each  pair  of  stakes  under  each  cap, 
and  one  above  each  cap,  which  stone  will  carry  up  the  fence 
the  height  of  two  rails.  Some  farmers  put  on  two  caps  to 
each  pair  of  stakes,  when  the  fence  is  to  be  unusually  high,  but 
when  stakes  are  driven  twenty  inches,  or  more,  in  dry  ground, 
and  a  cap  put  on  three  or  four  feet  from  the  ground,  two  caps 
are  not  necessary.  In  lieu  of  caps  many  farmers  use  wire 
for  holding  the  stakes  together,  which,  by  many,  is  considered 
preferable  to  caps.  Good  annealed  wire  is  used — about  9  or  1 0  is 
the  right  size  (see  Fig.  30) — and  after  being  put  around  a  pair  of 
stakes,  and  cut  partly  in  two  with  a  file  and  broken,  the  two  ends 
are  either  hooked  together  or  twisted  together.  If  the  wire  be 
large  and  stiff  it  is  best  to  hook  the  ends  together,  as  they  can 
readily  be  taken  off  the  stakes  when  it  becomes  necessary  to 
repair  the  fence.  Wire  is  cheaper  than  caps  when  one  must 
advance  cash  for  making  them,  and  by  drawing  it  up  tight  around 
the  stakes  it  will  bury  into  them,  and  the  weight  of  all  the  rails 
above  the  wires  will  rest  on  the  stakes,  thus  tending  to  keep  the 
stakes  in  the  ground  when  the  frost  has  lifted  them  upwards.  A 
fence,  with  the  stakes  set  at  each  joiat,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
fence,  will  resist  a  greater  force  than  when  they  are  set  in  the 
acute  angles  on  each  side  of  the  joint,  as  shown  in  the  figure. 

MAKING   FENCE    CAPS. 

87.  The  cheapest  and  most  expeditious  way  of  making  fence 
caps,  when  a  saw-mill  is  near  at 'hand,  is,  to  have  the  logs  sawed 
into  stuff  about  two  by  seven  inches,  or  one  and  a  half  inches  by 


78  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

seven,  and  then,  with  a  circular  saw,  cut  them  off  the  length 
desired,  and  bore  them.     But,  when  timber  will  split  freely,  more 
caps  can  be  made  of  a  log  by  riving  them   out  than  by  sawing, 
when  the  log  is  about  twice  the  diameter  of  the  width  of  a  cap. 
The  logs  are  sawed  off  the  length  of  caps  and  split  into  quarters 
with  a  beetle  and  wedges,  and  then  with  a  cooper's  froe,  (Fig. 
19,)  an  instrument  used  for  riving  timber,  and  with  mallet,  the 
the  caps  are  split  out,  by  setting  the 
froe  in  the  middle  of  the  stick  to  be  split. 
(See  SPLITTING  TIMBER,  63  and  64.) 
"When  caps  are  split  out,  one  side  of 
them  will  usually  be  thicker  than  the 
other.      The  average  thickness  of  the 
caps  is  a  matter  of  fancy.     Some  make 
them  one  inch,  some  two  inches,  some 
three  or  four  inches  thick.     The  thicker  A  COOPER'S  ™°*- 

the  caps  are,  the  more  they  will  aid  in  carrying  up  the  fence  to  a 
given  height.  If  caps  be  made  as  thick  as  a  rail,  they  carry  up 
the  fence  as  much  as  one  tier  of  rails,  and  at  the  same  time  sub 
serve  the  purpose  of  caps,  and  make  a  fence  stronger  than  thin 
ones,  which  are  liable  to  split  very  easily.  There  is  nothing  lost 
in  making  caps  four  inches  thick,  for  it  requires  much  less  timber 
to  make  such  a  cap  than  it  does  to  make  a  rail ;  and  a  man  can 
split  out  four  times  as  many  caps  in  a  day  as  he  can  rails ;  and  if 
they  be  thick  as  a  rail,  they  will  save  one  rail  to  a  panel  the 
entire  length  of  the  fence. 

88.  The  length  of  caps  must  be  determined  by  the  size  of  the 
rails,  the  size  of  the  holes  in  the  caps,  and  the  amount  of  worm 
in  the  fence.  These  three  considerations  combined,  will  enable 
the  builder  to  cut  his  caps  of  the  correct  length.  It  is  necessary 
first  to  ascertain,  if  we  can,  what  is  about  the  average  size  of  the 
rails.  If  they  will  average  from  three  to  four  inches  in  diameter, 
the  worm  of  the  fence  being  from  three  and  a  half  to  four  feet, 
the  holes  in  the  caps  should  be  from  five  to  six  inches  apart. 
Now,  six  inches  between  the  holes,  added  to  the  size  of  the  holes, 
which  are  usually  about  four  inches  in  diameter,  makes  fourteen 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL.  79 

inches,  which,  added  to  three  inches  at  each  end,  between  the 
holes  and  the  ends,  will  make  twenty  inches,  the  length  of  the 
caps.  Slabs  which  are  cut  from  logs,  at  saw-mills,  will  make  good 
caps,  and,  as  they  can  usually  be  purchased  at  a  low  price,  they 
will  make  very  cheap  caps. 

BOEING   FENCE    CAPS 

89.  Is  often  done  by  hand,  in  the  winter  season,  when  farmers 
have  Jmt  little  to  do.     Two  hands  can  bore  one  hundred  or  more 
in  an  hour  when  they  are  not  more  than  two  inches  thick. 

90.  There  are  various  kinds  of  augers  for  this  purpose.     The 
kind  which  may  be  worked  with  the  least  power  is  a  hollow 
auger,  which  cuts  a  circular  ring  through  the  cap,  of  the  size  of 
the  hole,  taking  out  a  core  from  the  centre  of  a  hole.     This  kind 
of  augers  is  not  capable,   generally,   of   boring  caps  which  are 
more  than  about  two  to  four  inches  thick.     Their  cost  is  from 
four  to  ten  dollars,  according  to  the  work  expended  in  fitting 
them  up  and  making  a  bench  for  one.     But  when  caps  are  to  be 
bored  by  hand,  an  ingenious  mechanic  may  get  up  an  auger, 
bench  and  all,  for  about  two  dollars,  which  will  perform  well,  and 
bore  all  the  caps  which  will  be  required  on  one  farm.     When  an 
auger  is  driven  by  horse  power,  or  steam,  or  water,  the  mandrel 
which  holds  the  auger  must  be  of  iron,  having  its  bearings  turned 
and  polished ;   but  when  boring  is   done  by  hand,  the  mandrel 
may  be  turned  out  of  a  very  tough  and  hard  piece  of  wood,  with 
a  kind  of  large  centre  bit  firmly  fixed  in  the  end  of  it  for  the 
auger,  with  a  crank  at  the  other  end.     An  ingenious  blacksmith 
will  make  for  fifty  cents  a  centre  bit,  with  a  square  shank  six  or 
eight  inches  long,  for  fastening  it  in  the  wooden  mandrel.     The 
caps  are  placed  on  a  slide,  which  is  made  to  move  towards  the 
auger  by  a  strap  being  attached  to  it,  and  passing  over  a  pulley 
and  fastened  to  a  foot  treadle.     After  the  hole  is  bored,  the  slide 
and  cap  are  pulled  back  with  the  hands.     The  whole  of  it  is  so 
simple  as  to  hardly  require  a  description.     Sometimes  the  cap  is 
fed  towards  the  auger  by  a  screw,  working  in  a  stationary  part 
of  the  bench;  but  feeding  with  a  strap  and  treadle  is- the  quick- 

4 


80  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

est  and  most  convenient  way  to  bore  caps.     (See  BORING  MA 
CHINE,  Fig.  122.) 

BUNK   AND    CAP   FENCE. 

91.  Figure  20  represents  a  bunk  for  fence,  similar  to  stake 
and  cap  fence,  with  the  exception  that  the  stakes  are  set  in  a 
block  about  four  feet  in  length,  instead  of  in  the  ground.     These 
blocks  may  be  as  large  as  one  man  can  jnIG>  20. 
handle,  or  they  may  be  small  as  a  rail  of 

the  largest  size.  The  larger  they  are 
the  more  substantial  the  fence  will  be. 
The  holes  for  the  stakes  should  not  be 
less  than  three  inches  in  diameter,  and 
should  be  bored  entirely  through  the 
pieces,  in  order  to  allow  water  to  work 
out  at  the  bottom.  "When  a  stake  is  a 
little  too  small,  it  may  be  made  tight  by 
a  wedge  on  one  side  of  it.  This  kind  of 
fence  may  be  straight  or  zigzag,  and  all  the  advantage  it  pos 
sesses  over  other  stake  fences  is,  it  can  be  removed  more  easily. 
It  requires  more  timber  and  time  to  make  it,  and  is  not  worthy 
of  adoption  generally,  excepting  in  localities  where  stakes  cannot 
be  driven  in  the  ground.  "When  this  kind  of  fence  is  made 
straight,  the  ends  of  the  rails  in  the  bunks  may  lie  side  by  side, 
or  one  above  the  other.  When  they  lay  side  by  side,  pieces  of 
rails  must  be  sawed  just  long  enough  to  lie  between  the  stakes, 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  the  next  tier  of  rails  several  inches. 
"When  this  mode  is  adopted  it  will  require  as  many  short  pieces 
as  there  are  rails  to  carry  it  up  to  the  caps.  This  fence  possesses 
one  good  quality  over  a  stake  fence — it  will  not  be  lifted  by  the 
frost,  and  is  more  easily  kept  erect. 

STRAIGHT    RAIL   FENCE. 

92.  Figure  21  shows  a  section  of  a  rail  fence,  built  with  the 
rails  in  a  straight  line.     The  stakes  are  first  set  just  far  enough 
asunder  to  receive  a  rail  of  medium  size.    Then  turn  two  furrows 


HUXX   FOR  KAIL   FENCK. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


81 


with  a  plow,  towards  the  fence,  on  each  side  of  it,  and  throw  up 
the  second  furrow  with  a  shovel,  so  as  to  form  a  ridge  one  foot 
or  more  in  height,  leaving  it  one  foot  broad  on  the  top,  so  that 
the  rain  will  not  wash  it  down  too  much.  Let  grass  seed  be 
sown  on  this  ridge.  By  throwing  up  a  ridge  the  stakes  stand 
more  firm,  and  are  less  liable  to  heave  by  the  frost,  and  cattle  do 
not  have  so  much  advantage  in  endeavoring  to  get  through  it, 

FIG.  21. 


A  STRAIGHT  RAIL  FENCE. 


or  over  it ;  and  besides,  it  saves  twice  as  many  rails  as  a  man 
could  split  while  he  is  casting  up  a  ridge.  Blocks  of  wood  or 
stone  many  now  be  placed  close  to  the  stakes,  on  the  ridge,  for 
the  fence  to  rest  on,  or  an  inch  pin,  of  durable  and  tough  timber, 
may  be  put  through  both  stakes  for  supporting  the  rails.  "When 
the  fence  is  merely  to  stop  horned  cattle  and  horses,  the  pin  may 
be  one  foot  above  the  ridge.  Lay  the  fence  two  or  three  rails 
high,  laying  between  the  stakes  stones  or  blocks  of  wood,  at 
pleasure,  and  then  put  in  another  pin,  or  put  on  a  wooden  cap  or 
a  wire.  "When  a  rail  is  too  large,  cut  it  away  with  the  axe  so 
that  it  will  fit  tightly  between  the  stakes.  Reserve  the  largest 
rails  for  the  top,  and  keep  the  crooked  ones  in  a  panel  by  them 
selves. 

93.  This  is  the  most  economical  rail  fence  that  can  be  built 
for  every  kind  of  stock ;  every  one  likes  it,  and  it  possesses  all 
the  commendable  qualities  that  any  fence  can  claim  ;  it  occupies 
but  little  space,  requires  but  few  rails,  is  strong  and  substantial, 


82 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


FIG.  22. 


and  looks  neat  and  farmer-like.     It  may  with  propriety  be  de 
nominated  the  farmer's  own  fence. 

THE  HORSE  FENCE,  OB  SKELETON  FENCE, 

94.  Which  is  represented  by  Fig.  22,  is  a  straight  fence, 
constructed  of  posts,  rails,  and  wire,  in  the  following  manner  : 
The  posts  are  first  set  firmly  in  the  ground,  as  far  apart  as  the 
length  of  the  rail,  allowing  the  rails  to  extend  by  each  post  two 
or  three  inches  ;  a  line  is  then  struck  on  the  posts,  as  in  building 
board  fence  (see  par.  152),  as  high  as  the  top  rail  is  to  be  placed  ; 
then  strike  two  more  lines  below  the  first  one,  as  far  apart  as 
desired  ;  the  two  top  rails  may 
be  one  foot  apart,  and  the  two 
next  one  foot  or  ten  inches. 
Now,  with  a  half-inch  bit,  bore 
the  holes  through  the  posts  at 
each  mark  at  right  angles  with 
the  fence  ;  then  have  two  light 
benches,  just  high  enough  to 
set  under  the  bottom  rail,  when 
it  is  raised  as  high  as  it  should 
be  on  the  side  of  the  posts  ; 
let  the  benches  be  placed  so  as 
to  hold  the  rail  about  where  it 
is  to  be  fastened,  and,  with  a  wire  running  through  the  posts, 
fasten  it  around  the  end  of  the  rail,  by  twisting  the  ends  of  it 
firmly  together.  Carry  the  first  bench  forward  to  the  next  post 
and  lay  up  another  rail,  and  put  a  wire  through  the  post  and 
around  the  ends  of  the  two  rails,  a  rail  being  on  each  side  of  the 
post,  and  twist  the  ends  together.  Carry  forward  the  next  bench 
and  lay  up  another  rail,  and  so  on  until  the  lower  rails  are  all 
put  up.  Put  up  the  second  rail,  letting  one  end  rest  on  the  bot 
tom  rail  while  the  other  end  is  beino-  made  fast.  When  more 

O 

than  one  hand  is  at  work  putting  up  rails  the  benches  may  be 
dispensed  with,  but  one  hand  alone  will  find  it  very  difficult  arid 
inconvenient  putting  up  the  first  rail  without  a  bench  to  hold  up 


*""  UOR8E'  OR  ™TON  FENCK 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  83 

one  end  while  he  is  fastening  the  other.  It  will  be  understood 
that  the  wire  passes  through  the  post  and  clasps  the  rails ;  and 
on  the  under  side  of  the  rails  the  wire  is  on  the  outside  of  the 
post. 

95.  Some  men  prefer  having  two  holes  bored  through  the  post 
for  every  tier  of  rails,  and  having  a  hole  in  each  end  of  the  rails, 
and  the  wire  put  through  one  rail,  then  through  the  post,  then 
through  the  rail  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  post,  and  then  through 
the  post  again.     But  it  requires  far  more  labor  to  make  the  fence 
when  two  holes  are  made  through  the  post  for  each  tier  of  rails,  and 
a  hole  in  the  end  of  the  rails  also,  and  it  makes  a  fence  no  better,  in 
any  way,  than  when  but  one  hole  is  made  through  the  post  for  each 
tier  of  rails ;  and,  besides  all  this,  when  the  holes  are  made  through 
the  rails  as  well  as  through  the  posts,  they  must  be  bored  very 
exact,  or  it  will  be  difficult  putting  the  wires  through.     "When 
the  wires  pass  entirely  around  the  rails,  if  they  are  twisted  up 
tightly  the  rails  cannot  be  got  out  without  breaking  the  wires. 
This  is  a  very  cheap  and  substantial  fence,  and  will  turn  horses 
and  large  cattle  about  as  well  as  a  fence  seven  rails  to  a  panel. 
It  is  a  great  improvement  to  cast  up  a  ridge  along  this  kind  of 
fence,  as  neither  cattle  nor  horses  can  push  against  it  with  as 
much  force  as  when  the   ground  about  it  is  all  smooth  and  level. 
If  the  rails  be  unusually  large,  the  holes  in  the   posts  may  be 
bored  farther  apart  than  one  foot. 

96.  The  principal  reason  why  many  fail  in  building  this  kind 
of  fence  is,  they  do  not  use  posts  sufficiently  large.     Many  use 
only  stakes,  driven  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  into  the  ground. 
But  in  order  to  have  such  a  fence  stand  well,  the  posts  should  be 
as  large  as  for  an  ordinary  board  fence,  and  should  be  set  as  deep 
as  for  a  board  fence  ;    then  if  an  unruly  animal  thrust  his  head 
through  he  cannot  throw  off  the  top  rails,  nor  push  away  the 
bottom  ones ;    he  must  necessarily  break  the   wires  or  rails,  or 
demolish  the  fence,  in  order  to  get  through,  and  any  animal  that 
will  do  that  should  not  have  his  liberty  in  an  open  field. 


84  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


THE   LOG,    OR   POLE    FENCE. 

97.  Fig.  23  shows  the  mode  of  building  a  fence  with  logs,  or 
large  poles  or  rails ;    they  may  be  cut  as  long  as  they  can  be 
handled  conveniently.     When  a  fence  is  made  of  logs,  one  end 
of  them  should  be  spotted 

with  an  axe,  so  that  they 

will  not  roll  off  at  every 

touch  of  an  animal.  When 

one   has   lots   of    timber 

that  is  of  but  little  value,     & 

it  may  be  worked  into  a 

fence  in  the  logs,  at  very  much  less  expense  than  to  split  it  into 

rails.     Logs  thirty  feet  in  length  may  be  used  for  the  two  first 

tiers,  and  may  be  rolled  to  their  places  on  the  fence  with  a  team. 

When  k  is  one  or  two  logs  high  it  may  be  finished  with  heavy 

poles. 

98.  When  this  kind  of  fence  is  made  entirely  of  poles,  the 
cross  panels  may  be  made  of  the  sound  pieces  of  old  rails,  or  of 
pieces  of  poles.     In  either  case  the  corners  should  be  spotted,  so 
that  they  will  not  roll. 

99.  When  one  has  a  large  lot  of  sound  pieces  of  old  rails, 
they  may  be  used  up  to  an  advantage  in  building  a  rail  fence  in 
this  manner.     When  such  a  fence  is  made  of  rails,  in  order  to 
have  it  straight,  stick  a  row  of  stakes,  and  lay  one  corner  of  the 
fence  in  a  line  with  the  stakes,  and  cut  the  lower  sticks,  for  the 
short  panels,  about  two  and  a  half  feet  long  and  place  the  next 
corner  as  far  from  the  first  as  it  will  admit  of,  and  lap  a  few  inches 
at  each  end,  laying  the  short  panels   at  a  right  angle  with  the 
rails.     As  the  tiers  of  rails  are  laid  on,  the  ends  should  be  laid 
inwards  a  little,  every  tier  towards  each  other,  so  that  when  the 
fence  is  about  five  rails  high  the  top  rails  will  lay  in  a  straight 
line,  with  their  ends  side  by  side.     The  pieces  for  the  short 
panels  should  be  shorter  in  length  at  each  tier,  and  the  top  ones 
may  be 'not  more  than  one  foot  long.     This  kind  of  fence  should 
always  be  staked,  and  after  it  is  staked  the  ends  of  the  rails  will 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  85 

touch  the  under  side  of  the  stakes  from  the  bottom  to  the  top  of 
the  fence.  The  place  for  each  stake  is  shown  by  the  preceding 
diagram.  The  heaviest  rails  are  laid  between  the  stakes  for 
riders,  and  if  large  poles,  as  long  as  two  rails,  can  be  obtained 
for  riders,  the  fence  will  be  much  stronger  than  if  it  were  made 
entirely  of  rails.  This  kind  of  fence  is  to  be  staked  with  stakes 
not  sharpened,  but  set  in  holes  dug  with  a  pick,  or  mattock,  whose 
blade  is  about  two  inches  wide. 

100.  I  may  be  allowed  to  remark  here,  that  but  few  men 
know  how  to  dig  a  stake  hole  correctly.  We  often  see  the  man 
stand  facing  the  fence  when  digging  the  holes ;  this  is  decidedly 
wrong,  because  when  standing  in  this  position,  the  earth,  which 
should  all  remain  unbroken  and  solid,  to  keep  the  stakes  from 
tipping  up  when  the  riders  are  laid  on,  is  all  broken  up,  and  the 
stakes  tip  up  very  readily ;  but  if  the  digger  will  stand  with  his 
side  to  the  fence,  and  dig  a  long  deep  hole,  leaving  an  unbroken 
bank  for  the  end  of  the  stake  to  raise  against,  it  will  be  almost 
impossible  to  make  the  ends  tip  up  by  laying  on  any  amount  of 
heavy  riders.  It  matters  not  how  long  the  hole  is  dug  in  the 
direction  of  the  length  of  the  fence,  but  it  should  be  dug  to  fit 
the  stake.  It  should  slant  in  the  direction  of  the  stakes  when 
the  riders  are  on  the  fence,  and  be  just  wide  enough  to  admit  the 
end  of  stake  when  it  is  thrust  into  the  hole  with  a  man's  whole  force. 
When  the  stakes  are  large,  and  the  rails  also,  the  stakes  must 
be  set  more  slanting  than  when  the  rails  are  very  small.  If 
stakes  be  set  rather  straight  up  and  down,  they  may  be  in  the 
correct  position  for  a  small  rail,  but  if  the  riders  were  large  there 
would  be  too  much  space  between  the  rails  and  riders.  Two 
riders  are  usually  laid  in  such  a  fence,  although  many  farmers 
use  but  one.  The  under  rider  is  laid  with  one  end  in  a  pair  of 
stakes,  and  the  other  end  under  the  next  pair  of  stakes.  The 
upper  riders,  of  course,  are  laid  in  the  stakes,  with  both  ends 
above  them. 


86 


THE    BOD   FENCE, 


101.  Is  a  great  favorite  among  some  farmers  because  of  its 
substantiality.      This  kind  of  fence  is  made  like  the  zigzag 
stake  and  rail  fence,  with  an  iron  rod  passing  through  all  the 
rails  at  the  joints.     Iron  rods,  from  three  to  four-eighths  of  an 
inch  in  diameter,  and  about  four  and  a  half  feet  long,  are  set  in 
a  fence  block  two  or  three  inches  deep,  and  then  a  hole  about 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter  is  bored  through  each  end 
of  all  the  rails,  after  which  they  are  slipped  on  the  rods.     To  save 
rails,  pieces  of  rails  may  be  sawed  up  about  four  or  six  inches 
long,  and  bored  and  put  on  the  rods.     It  is  not  necessary  that 
the  rods  be  made  very  tight  in  the  fence  blocks,  for  the  force 
of  anything  against  the  fence  is  merely  in  a  horizontal  direction, 
and  when  all  the  rails  are  laid  up  the  fence  will  resist  quite  as 
great  a  force  if  the  rods  enter  the  blocks  loosely,  as  when  they 
are  made  tight. 

102.  When  boring  the  rails,  some  eight  or  ten  of  them  should 
be  laid  on  two  benches,  and  the  holes  made  at  an  equal  distance, 
measuring  with  a  thin  strip  of  board,  or  the  like.     The  holes 
should  be  at  least  one-third  larger  than  the  rods,  and  care  and 
skill  must  be  exercised  in  boring  them,  and  have  them  true  with 
each  other.     If  one  hole  slant  a  little  one  way  and  the  other  hole 
be  straight  through,  or  slant  a  little  in  another  direction,  it  will 
be  very  difficult  getting  the  rails  on  the  rods,  on  account  of  their 
binding  on  the  rods.     If  it  were  desired,  a  head  could  be  made 
on  the  lower  ends  of  the  rods  and  a  nut  and  screw  on  the  upper 
ends,  and  they  could  pass  through  the  blocks  and  rails  and  be 
screwed  up  tight.     Let  a  small  hole  be  drilled  in  stone  blocks  for 
the  end  of  the  rod. 


OR    GUN    FENCE. 

103.  A  section  of  which  is  represented  by  Fig.  24,  is  made 
with  small  stakes  and  short  pieces  of  rails,  or  it  may  all  be  made 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


87 


SIDE  HILL,  OR  GUN  FENCE. 

Two  stakes  are   required  for  each  rail. 


of    stakes   only,   four,  FIG.  24 

five,  or  six  feet  in 
length,  pointed  and 
driven  in  the  ground. 
The  rise  of  the  ground 
where  the  fence  is  to 
be  made  will  deter 
mine  the  length  of 
both  rails  and  stakes. 
Where  the  ground  is 
so  steep  that  an  ani 
mal — horse  or  ox — can 
scarcely  ascend  or  de 
scend,  the  horizontal 
pieces  may  be  only 
four  feet  in  length  and 
the  stakes  four  feet. 
Slabs  placed  edge  ways  in  the  stakes,  will  lay  up  much  faster 
with  a  given  number  of  stakes  than  pieces  of  rails  or  stakes. 

104.  The  first  step  in  building  such  a  fence  on  level  ground 
or  up  an  acclivity,  is  to  plow  a  narrow  trench,  from  eight  to 
twelve  inches  deep ;  and  where  the  ground  is  too  steep  to  be 
plowed,  a  narrow  channel  may  be  dug  with  a  pick  or  spade. 
Commence  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  and  lay  one  end  of  the  slab  or 
piece  of  rail  on  a  large  stone  or  block  of  wood,  or  a  short  post 
driven  in  the  ground,  and  the  other  end  in  the  trench,  and  stamp 
the  dirt  on  each  side  of  it  to  keep  it  on  its  edge.  Set  a  pair  of 
stakes  so  that  they  will  rest  on  this  slab,  as  shown  in  the  figure, 
and  then  lay  another  slab  in  the  crotch  of  the  stakes,  with  one 
end  in  the  trench,  and  stamp  in  the  dirt  with  the  foot,  as  was 
done  with  the  first  one.  When  this  kind  of  fence  is  built  on 
level  ground,  slabs  of  almost  any  length  may  be  used.  Long 
ones  must  be  placed  more  nearly  horizontal  than  the  short  ones. 
When  slabs  are  of  various  lengths,  those  of  one  length  should 
be  placed  together,  in  order  to  make  the  fence  of  a  uniform 
height.  Whatever  may  be  the  length  of  a  slab,  the  end  of  the 


88 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


first  slab  above  the  ground  should  be  elevated  just  as  high  as 
the  fence  is  to  be  made,  and  as  the  other  slabs  are  laid  in  the 
crotch  of  the  stakes,  care  must  be  exercised  to  keep  them  all  of 
about  the  same  inclination  as  the  first  one  that  was  put  up.  If, 
for  instance,  one  has  been  making  fence  of  slabs  sixteen  feet 
long,  and  wishes  now  to  use  slabs  twelve  feet  in  length,  in  order 
to  have  the  fence  of  a  uniform  height,  the  slabs  twelve  feet  long 
must  be  placed  more  perpendicularly  than  those  sixteen  feet  in 
length.  Let  the  builder  always  remember  to  place  the  largest 
end  of  a  slab  in  the  ground. 

THE    PAEK   FENCE. 

105.  Fig.  25  is  a  representation  of  a  fence  which  will  turn 
almost  anything  that  ought  to  have  its  liberty  in  the  fields.  This 
fence,  where  timber  is  cheap,  is  the  cheapest  fence  that  can  be 
built,  for  a  high  fence.  The  first  step  in  building  it  is,  to  plow  a 


FIG.  25. 


\ 

^v 

nimnnn 

nflnnnn 

s 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

!  j 

1 

;   1 

!    i 

1  >f  i!  I  i!  ! 
?  1  >  f  ' 

!  '• 

'f| 

PARK   FE.VCK. 


clear,  according  to  the  size 
side   of    the   tops   should   be 


deep  trench,  and  then 
make  holes  with  a  crow 
bar  in  it,  as  far  apart  as 
the  stakes  are  to  be 
stuck.  Have  a  long 
plank  bench,  standing 
by  the  side  of  the  fence, 
and  let  one  man  put  the 
stakes  in  the  holes  and 
hold  them  perpendicu 
larly,  while  another  man 
drives  them.  The  stakes 
may  be  from  three  to 
eight  inches  apart,  in  the 
of  the  animals  to  be  turned.  One 


kept   in    perfect   range,    so   that 


a  narrow  strip  of  board  may  be  nailed  to  each  of  them.  At  the 
distance  of  about  every  ten  or  twelve  feet,  a  stake  two  or  three 
feet  longer  than  the  rest  should  be  set,  for  holding  wires,  which 
may  be  fastened  to  the  stakes  with  staples,  or  they  may  pass 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  89 

through  the  stakes  in  holes  as  in  the  figure.  Wire  as  small  as 
number  twelve  would  be  sufficiently  large  for  this  purpose. 
After  the  stakes  are  all  driven,  there  should  be  two  or  three  fur 
rows  plowed  on  each  side  of  the  fence  and  cast  up  against  the 
stakes  with  a  shovel,  and  grass  seed  sowed  on  it.  "When  such  a 
fence  is  made  of  durable  timber,  well  seasoned  and  well  made,  it 
will  need  no  repairing,  ordinarily,  for  a  score  of  years. 

STAKE    AND    RIDER    FENCE. 

106.  At  Fig.  26  the  ordinary  mode  of  finishing  a  worm  fence 
with  stakes  and  riders  is  shown.  The  stakes  are  set  about  one 
foot  deep  in  the  ground,  the  holes  having  been  dug  with  a  pick, 
about  from  eighteen  FIG.  26. 

to  thirty  inches  from 
the  fence,  according 
to  the  size  of  the 
rails  and  the  height 
of  the  fence,  before 

it  is   Staked,  and  the  STAKE  AND  RIDER  FE.VCE. 

amount  of  worm  which  is  given  it  in  laying  the  foundation. 
The  higher  the  fence  is  before  it  is  staked,  and  the  larger  the 
riders  are,  and  the  more  worm  there  is,  the  farther  the  foot  of 
the  stakes  must  be  set  from  the  fence.  The  dotted  lines  show 
the  position  of  the  stakes ;  and  it  will  be  discovered,  that  at 
every  alternate  corner  of  the  fence  they  are  placed  with  the 
opposite  sides  together.  This  is  a  very  important  consideration  in 
staking  a  fence  of  this  style,  which  men  of  experience  well 
understand,  but  which  the  beginner  does  not  always  perceive 
very  readily ;  and  those  who  do  not  understand  the  practical 
importance  of  it  place  every  pair  of  stakes  alike,  and  the  conse 
quence  is,  the  spaces  between  the  riders  are  very  much  too  wide. 
We  will  suppose,  for  instance,  -that  in  making  a  fence  like  the 
figure,  we  commence  at  a  certain  point  and  work  west.  The 
stakes  on  the  north  side  of  the  fence  a  a  a  must  be  placed  on 
the  east  side  of  those  on  the  south  side,  and  the  stakes  at  b  b 
must  be  placed  on  the  west  side  of  those  on  the  south  side  of  the 


90 

fence.  This  is  important  only  when  the  lower  rider  is  placed 
with  one  end  in  the  crotch  of  one  pair  of  stakes  and  the  other 
end  under  the  next  pair.  For  the  lower  riders,  rails  of  small 
size  should  be  used.  When  no  cross  rider  is  used,  the  first  or 
lowest  rider  being  laid,  with  both  ends  in  the  stakes,  each  pair 
of  stakes  may  set  just  alike.  Let  the  outside  stakes  all  be  set 
in  a  line,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  so  that  in  plowing  the  plow  may 
be  run  straight  along  by  the  foot  of  them.  Set  the  foot  of  the 
stakes  at  a  right  angle  with  the  fence,  and  not  diagonally,  either 
way,  because,  when  set  so  as  to  lean  on  the  fence  in  a  diagonal 
direction,  the  spaces  between  the  riders  will  often  be  rendered 
wider,  and  a  fence  will  not  stand  as  firmly  as  if  the  stakes  were 
standing  at  a  right  angle  with  the  fence.  The  height  of  this 
style  of  fence,  before  it  is  staked,  must  depend  on  the  size  of  the 
fence  blocks,  the  size  of  the  rails,  and  the  ultimate  height  of  the 
fence.  When  the  fence  blocks  and  rails  are  of  a  good  size,  and 
animals  orderly,  and  riders  heavy,  four  rails  high  before  staking, 
and  two  after  staking,  will  make  a  good  lawful  fence,  and  any 
animal  that  would  pass  it  by  leaping  over  it,  or  by  demolishing 
it,  should  be  hampered  without  delay,  or  placed  in  a  field  which 
is  fenced  with  a 


DOUBLE    STAKE    AND    RIDER    FENCE. 

107.  Fig.  27  represents  the  manner  of  staking  and  ridering  a 

FIG.  27.  fence    in   a  twofold 

oi  p,       manner.  The  fence  is 

^^v  ><§^\  yx*xs  ^rst  ma<^e  ^k°  Fig. 

>^'  .^/^'6^N^,         J         —  18»    ail(^   t^ien    l°ng 


on    the   top    of    the 
DOUBLE  STAKE  AND  RIDER  FENCE.  riders,  and  staked  as 

shown  in  the  figure,  and  heavy  rails  or  poles  are  laid  in  the  stakes. 
It  is  very  convenient  sometimes  to  have  a  yard  or  small  field  en 
closed  with  such  a  fence,  where  a  bull  or  stallion  may  be  turned 
loose  without  any  fears  of  his  getting  out  of  his  proper  place ;  and 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL.  91 

if  it  is  enclosed  with  such  a  fence,  any  animals  that  are  let  loose 
within  such  an  enclosure  are  obliged  to  remain  there  until  they 
are  allowed  to  go  out  at  the  gate. 

THE    GUARD   FENCE 

108.  Is  sometimes  one  of  the  most  economical  rail  fences  that 
can  be  erected.     "When  one  has  but  few  rails  at  hand,  and  a  tem 
porary  fence  is  needed  for  a  few  weeks,  the  guard  fence  is  a  very 
economical  and  convenient  mode  of  fencing.     It  not  unfrequently 
occurs  that  it  is  necessary  to  fence  a  narrow  way  across  the  end 
of  a  field,  where  the  cattle  are  to  be  driven  to  a  distant  field  every 
day  to  pasture  or  to  water.     Sometimes,  also,  it  is  very  desirable 
to  have  a  temporary  fence  through  a  field,  for  the  purpose  of  al 
lowing  a  team  to  graze  for  a  few  hours  where  there  is  good  pas 
ture,  while  there  may  be  grain  in  one  part  of  the  field.      This 
style  of  fence  is  not  designed  to  turn  cattle  only  while  the  eyes  of 
some  one  is  on  them.     It  is  made  two  or  three  rails  high,  zigzag 
or  straight.     Stakes,  or  crotches,  are  driven  into  the  ground,  so 
that  the  bottom  rail,  when  resting  on  them,  will  be  about  two 
feet  from  the  ground.      Stake  them  with  anything  that  will  not 
decay  while  the  fence  is  needed,  and  lay  on  one  rider,  or  two,  as 
may  seem  best.     If  two  riders  are  used,  the  lower  rider  should 
be  laid  with  one  end  in  the  crotch  of  one  pair  of  stakes,  while  the 
other  end  is  under  the  stakes.     This  style  of  fence  will  often  sub 
serve  as  good  a  purpose  as  one  which  would  cost  four  or  five 
times  as  much  as  this. 

POST    AND    BAR    FENCE 

109.  Is  a  style  of  fence  which  many  farmers  seem  to  admire 
more  than  almost  any  other,  but  it  is  not  economical,  as  a  general 
rule,  because  of  the  great  amount  of  labor  required  to  build  it. 
The  posts  are  mortised  similar  to  bar-posts,  and  the  rails  are  split 
from  five  to  six  inches  wide,  and  about  two  inches  thick ;  and  the 
ends  of  two  bars,  one  on  each  side  of  the  post,  are  dressed  off  so 
that  two  of  them  will  enter  one  hole.     There  can  be  no  objection 


92  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MAN U AC. 

to  this  fence  save  the  expense  of  labor  in  building  it.  When  a 
post  and  bar  fence  is  built  of  durable  timber,  and  in  a  workman 
like  manner,  it  will  stand  without  any  repairing  as  long,  and  per 
haps  longer,  than  almost  any  other  rail  fence. 

POST   AND    BAIL   FENCE 

110.  Is  made  similar  to  post  and  bar  fence,  only  in  this  style : 
A  round  tenon  is  made  on  each  end  of  all  the  rails,  which  are  well 
driven  into  round  holes  in  the  posts.  When  a  fence  is  built  in 
this  manner,  the  tenons  should  be  well  smeared  with  coal  tar  or 
paint,  to  exclude  the  wet,  as  in  such  places  they  would  be  very 
liable  to  decay  in  a  few  seasons  if  unpainted. 

A  post  and  rail  fence  may  be  made  a  self-sustaining  fence  by 
boring  the  holes  in  round  sticks  for  corner  posts,  at  such  an  angle 
that  the  rails  of  each  panel  will  be  about  the  same  angle  of  an  or 
dinary  rail  fence.  But  we  would  not  advise  the  builder  to  at 
tempt  to  erect  such  a  self-sustaining  fence,  for  he  would  most 
assuredly  wish,  in  a  few  years,  that  he  had  never  seen  such  a 
fence.  There  are  several  other  styles  of  rail  fence,  which  we  have 
not  adverted  to,  because  we  do  not  consider  them  worthy  of 
adoption. 

BARS   AND    BAR-POSTS. 

111.  Bars  should  always  be  made  of  light  timber  when  they 
are  made  to  be  let  down,  so  that  children  can  put  them  up  with 
out  difficulty.  The  lightest  rails  should  be  selected  for  bars, 
when  the  rails  are  being  overhauled,  so  that  no  time  may  be  lost 
in  searching  for  them  when  they  are  needed.  The  neatest  bars 
are  made  by  having  a  log  of  some  light  timber  sawed  into  bars 
about  an  inch  and  a  half  thick  by  four  or  five  wide  ;  one  log  will 
make  a  large  lot  of  them.  Bar-posts  should  be  not  less  than 
eleven  or  twelve  feet  apart,  as  that  amount  of  space  is  none  too 
great  to  allow  a  load  of  hay  or  grain,  or  some  of  the  implements 
of  the  farm,  to  pass  through  freely. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


SLIDING    BARS. 


SLIDING   BARS, 

12.  Represented  at  Fig.  28,  are  the  most  convenient  style  for 
bars, especially  where  pIG.  28. 

bars  are  used  very 
often.  Three  bar-  — 
posts  are  set  so  that  = 
the  bar-holes  will  ex 
actly  range  with 
each  other.  Two 
of  them  should  be 
set  about  four  feet 
apart,  and  two  about 
eleven  or  twelve  feet 
apart.  The  bars 
shoul<^  be  sawed  true 
and  straight,  and  in  opening  the  bar- way  they  can  be  pushed  back, 
as  shown  in  the  figure.  Such  bars  are  much  more  convenient 
than  those  which  must  be  let  down  or  taken  out  when  anything 
is  to  pass  through. 

113.  Cattle,  horses,  and  some  other  animals,  sometimes  acquire 
the  vice  of  letting  the  bars  down,  and  thus   opening  the  way  to 
forbidden  ground.     This  may  be  prevented  by  boring  a  hole  in 
the  bars  on  each  side  of  one  of  the  posts  through  which  the  bars 
slide,  and  by  putting  in  pins.     This  is  better  than  to  wedge  the 
bars  in  the  mortises. 

114.  Bar-posts  (see  SPLITTING  BAR-POSTS,   Fig.  12)  should  be 
hewed  out  straight,  as  they  are  sometimes  winding ;  and  all  the 
mortises  should  be  parallel  with  each  other.     If  the  sides  of  a 
bar-post  are  winding,  an  unskillful  workman  is  very  liable  to  make 
the  mortises  crooked,  or  not  parallel  with  each  other,  and  the 
consequence  would  be  that  the  mortises  in  the  different  posts 
would  not  range  with  each  other.      Good  slabs,  which  are  cut 
from  logs  at  saw-mills,  will  make  good  bar-posts. 

115.  Fig.  29  represents  the  manner  of  making  a  bar-post  so  as 


THE  YOUNG  FAKMER's  MANUAL. 


to  connect  a  fence  with  it.  If  the  post  is  ten  or  more 
inches  wide,  it  will  be  wide  enough  for  the  bar-holes 
or  mortises,  and  a  row  of  round  holes  for  the  ends  of 
rails.  In  case  the  post  is  not  wide  enough  for  a  row 
of  holes  for  the  ends  of  the  rails,  a  stake  may  be  set 
on  one  side  of  it,  with  pieces  of  boards  firmly  nailed 
on  from  the  post  to  the  stake,  for  supporting  the  rails. 
The  mortises  should  be  not  less  than  two  inches  wide ; 
and  the  length  of  them  and  spaces  is  shown  by  the  ' 
figures.  The  mortises  for  the  top  bars,  when  bars  are 
made  to  be  let  down,  must  be  a  little  longer,  up  and 
down,  than  the  bottom  ones,  so  as  to  allow  the  other 
ends  of  the  bars  to  go  down  to  the  ground.  For  slid 
ing  bars,  the  mortises  need  not  be  much  longer  than  BAB-POST. 
the  width  of  the  bars. 

116.  Repairing  bar-posts  is  something  that  is  seldom  thought 
of  by  those  who  have  lots  of  bar-posts  which  have  rotted  entirely 
off  at  the  surface  of  the  ground.     The   tops  would  last  many 
times  fifteen  years  longer,  but  the  lower  ends  of  them  have  de 
cayed.     Let  such  posts  be  pinned  firmly  to  a  strong  stake  or  two, 
and  an  old  bar-post  will  subserve  the  place  of  a  new  one. 

117.  Bar-posts  should  be  made  on  stormy  days  and  in  the  win 
ter,  when  the  forces  of  the  farm  are  not  engaged  in  the  operations 
which  demand  attention  at  some  particular  season.     To  aid  the 
beginner  in  laying  out  the  mortises  for  a  bar-post,  take  a  narrow 
strip  of  thin  board  and  cut  notches  in  it,  so  that  it  may  be  laid  on 
a  post  and  the  mortises  and  spaces  marked  off  correctly  and  alike 
on  all  the  posts.     The  length  of  the  mortises  and  width  of  spaces 
must  first  be  laid  out  correctly  on  the  marking  board,  and  then 
there  will  be  no  danger  of  mortising  a  post  wrong.     The  mortises 
and  spaces  may  be  made  according  to  Fig.  29. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  95 

E.    NASH'S    IMPROVED    FENCE. 

Fig.  29^  represents  a  new  style  of  straight  rail  fence,  which 
has  but  recently  been  invented  by  E.  Nash,  Auburn,  N.  Y.  It 
may  be  constructed  of  rails  or  of  boards.  If  made  of  rails,  flat 
ten  the  ends  a  little,  and  cut  them  of  a  uniform  length,  and  nail 

FIG.  29J. 


NASH'S  IMPROVED  FENCE. 


pieces  of  boards  four  feet  long,  and  five  or  six  inches  wide  to  the 
ends  of  the  rails,  as  shown  in  the  cut,  allowing  them  to  extend 
leyond  the  ends  of  the  rails  half  their  width.  Two  boards  are 
required  at  each  panel,  one  at  each  end,  and  on  opposite  sides. 
Set  the  panels  erect  on  flat  stones,  or  other  blocks,  and  put  a 
small  carriage  bolt  through  the  upper  ends  of  the  braces,  and 
through  the  uprights,  or  nail  them,  and  set  the  braces,  which 
may  be  made  of  pieces  of  rails,  in  the  ground  with  a  pick  or 
spade.  Drive  small  stakes,  if  necessary,  near  the  foot  of  the 
uprights,  to  keep  the  bottom  of  the  fence  from  being  moved  side 
ways.  This  fence  may  be  used  for  hurdles,  or  fencing  stacks,  or  for 
making  pens  for  stock.  When  used  for  either  of  these  purposes 
long  staples,  passing  through  one  of  the  uprights  and  fastened 
by  a  wooden  key,  will  hold  the  panels  at  the  corners  more  con 
veniently  than  bolts.  It  may  be  erected  on  rolling  land,  or  up 
and  down  slopes,  as  well  as  on  level  ground ;  and  is  very  cheaply 
constructed,  saving  more  than  one-third  the  number  of  rails,  and 
is  as  durable  as  any  other  style  of  rail  fence,  and  is  not  liable  to 


96  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

be  displaced  by  the  frost.  The  only  portion  liable  to  rapid  decay 
are  the  ends  of  the  braces,  which  may  be  cut  off  after  the  ends 
have  rotted,  and  bolted  to  the  uprights  lower  down  from  the  top. 
Board  fence  may  be  built  after  this  style,  of  any  desired  height 
or  width  of  boards,  and  it  will  be  difficult  to  displace  or  knock 
off  the  boards,  as  they  are  well  battered  on  each  side  of  the 
fence.  The  foot  of  the  braces  need  not  be  more  than  twenty 
inches  from  the  blocks.  The  cost  of  such  a  fence  will  depend 
upon  the  value  of  timber.  In  my  locality,  good  fencing  can  be 
obtained  for  seventy  cents  per  hundred  square  feet,  and  about 
thirty  square  feet  will  make  a  rod  in  length.  The  labor  of  erect 
ing  will  not  amount  to  more  than  six  cents  per  rod.  This  is  the 
most  permanent  and  substantial  straight  fence  for  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  that  I  have  met  with  ;  and  I  have  no  hesitancy  in 
recommending  it  to  my  brother  farmers. 

SECTION    2. BOARD    FENCE. 

"  Where  towering  pines  and  rugged  oaks  abound, 
With  pales  or  boards  the  fields  are  circled  round  : 
The  royal  oak  supplies  both  posts  and  rails  ; 
Hemlock  and  tulip  furnish  boards  and  pales." — EDWARDS. 

118.  There  is  no  limit  to  the  different  styles  of  board  fence. 
Boards  of  all  widths  and  lengths  have  been  worked  into  fence ; 
and  in  half  the  instances,  the  builders  have  never  stopped  to 
inquire  whether  they  are  using  up  their  timber  in  the  most 
economical  manner  or  not.  I  have  no  apprehensions  of  being 
charged  with  making  a  random  assertion,  when  I  affirm,  that 
were  all  the  boards  which  are  worked  up  through  the  country, 
in  building  board  fence,  sawed  in  the  most  economical  forms  and 
sizes,  just  twice  as  much  fence  could  be  made  with  them,  and 
the  fences  would  be  just  as  permanent,  efficient  and  durable  as 
they  now  are.  There  is  not  half  the  economy  exercised  in  pre 
paring  the  materials  for  a  board  fence,  that  there  is  in  building 
fences  of  other  descriptions.  Farmers  too  often  trust  to  a  saw 
yer  to  saw  their  fencing  of  the  different  sizes,  which  they  (the 
sawyers)  may  think  most  convenient  and  suitable ;  and  in  too 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL.  97 

many  instances  it  is  sawed  into  boards,  and  that  is  all.  Now,  if 
a  board  four  or  five  inches  wide  will  subserve  as  good  a  purpose 
in  building  fence  as  one  seven  or  eight  inches  wide,  there  is  a 
manifest  want  of  economy  in  preparing  the  boards  for  fence ;  and 
if  two  posts  will  subserve  as  good  a  purpose  for  every  sixteen 
feet  in  length  of  fence,  as  if  they  occupied  only  twelve  feet,  then 
there  is  a  lack  of  economy  in  using  up  posts,  and  nails,  and  in 
digging  the  holes,  and  in  performing  most  of  the  other  work 
required  to  build  a  board  fence.  If  the  builder  desires  to  build 
a  tight  board  fence,  *'.  e.,  one  with  no  spaces  between  the  boards, 
it  will  require  just  about  so  many  feet  of  boards  for  a  rod, 
whether  they  are  placed  horizontally  or  vertically.  But  when 
an  open  board  fence  is  to  be  erected,  where  economy  in  lumber 
and  labor  is  a  consideration  of  any  account,  the  idea  which  should 
influence  the  builder  is,  to  have  the  boards  as  long  as  will  be 
most  profitable,  and  as  narrow  as  will  be  most  consistent,  with 
suitable  strength  and  symmetry,  and  the  spaces  between  the 
boards  as  wide  as  possible,  and  turn  those  animals  which  the 
fence  is  designed  to  stop  from  getting  on  forbidden  ground. 

119.  Many  farmers,  and  experienced  fence- builders,  also,  have 
imbibed  the  notion  that  the  bottom  board  must  of  necessity  be  a 
foot  or  more  wider  than  the  others,  and  the  second  and  third 
still  narrower  than  the  bottom  board,  until  the  top  board  is 
arrived  at,  which  must  be  narrower  than  any  of  the  others.  "We 
might,  with  the  same  propriety,  contend  that  the  bottom  rail  of 
a  rail  fence  should  be  preposterously  large,  while  the  top  one 
should  be  the  smallest.  There  would  be  just  as  much  consist 
ency  in  the  latter  as  in  the  former.  I  know  it  is  contended  that 
a  board  fence  looks  better  when  the  bottom  board  is  about  twice 
as  wide  as  the  top  board.  But  we  have  all  followed  in  the  train 
of  custom  in  this  respect  for  so  long  a  time,  that  we  have  come 
to  think  that  a  board  fence  looks  "  odd  "  and  not  tasty,  if  the 
boards  are  all  of  one  width,  being  as  narrow  as  would  be  con 
sistent  with  their  strength  to  turn  animals.  Had  we  been  accus 
tomed  to  see  all  the  boards  of  a  uniform  width,  it  would  appear 
still  more  odd  and  deficient  in  taste,  to  see  a  fence  built  with  the 


98  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

bottom  board  twice  as  wide  as  the  top  board.  Sometimes  the 
bottom  boards  are  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  the 
top  boards  of  the  same  fence  only  four  inches.  There  can  be  no 
plausible  reason  whatever,  to  justify  the  use  of  such  a  wide 
board  for  the  bottom  of  a  board  fence.  It  cannot  be  argued  that 
greater  strength  is  necessary  near  the  bottom  of  a  fence,  for 
the  reverse  of  this  is  true.  Swine  and  sheep  do  not. require  as 
strong  a  fence  as  horses  and  horned  cattle ;  consequently,  if  a 
wide  board  is  necessary,  matters  of  taste  and  strength  argue  that 
it  should  be  placed  at  the  top  of  the  fence,  where  the  greatest 
resistance  is  needed.  If  a  board  four  or  five  inches  wide  pos 
sesses  sufficient  strength  to  turn  horned  cattle  and  horses,  most 
assuredly  a  board  of  that  width  is  sufficiently  strong  to  turn 
swine  and  sheep.  If,  for  instance,  a  board  were  fourteen  inches 
wide,  and  placed  three  inches  from  the  ground,  it  would  make 
the  fence  seventeen  inches  high.  Now,  if  that  board  were  slit 
into  three  boards  of  equal  width,  being  about  four  and  a  half 
inches  wide,  with  the  first  board  three  inches  above  the  ground, 
and  the  first  space  three  inches,  and  the  second  space  four  inches, 
that  same  board  would  make  a  fence  3+4-^-|-44-4^  +  5-|-5-J= 
26-^  inches  high,  and  sufficiently  strong  to  turn  any  kind  of 
domestic  animals.  Again,  fence  boards  are  often  sawed  twelve 
or  fourteen  inches  wide  for  the  bottom  board,  the  next  nine  inches 
wide,  the  next  eight,  the  next  seven,  the  next,  or  top  board,  six 
inches.  The  spaces  often  are  two  inches  below  the  bottom  board ; 
first  space  two  inches,  second  space  three  inches,  third  space  four 
inches,  fourth  space  five  inches,  which  will  make  a  fence  five  feet 
high.  The  boards  used  would  be  equal  to  a  board  forty -four 
inches  wide,  with  spaces  amounting  to  sixteen  inches  wide.  It 
is  granted  that  such  a  fence  would  be  a  strong  and  substantial 
one  ;  but,  if  the  boards  were  all  of  a  uniform  width,  (four  and  a 
half  inches  wide,)  with  wider  spaces,  but  still  sufficiently  narrow 
to  stop  pigs  and  lambs,  a  fence  five  feet  high,  and  far  more  tasty, 
in  my  estimation,  could  be  made  with  six  boards  four  and  a  half 
inches  wide,  equal  to  a  board  twenty-seven  inches  in  width,  with 
spaces  three,  four,  five,  six,  seven,  eight  inches  in  width.  But 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  99 

we  would  not  be  understood  that  we  consider  such  a  fence  an 
economical  one,  or  worthy  of  adoption  as  a  general  rule ;  because, 
for  ordinary  purposes,  all  timber  that  is  used  in  building  a  fence 
above  four  and  a  half  feet  high  is  useless,  and  the  labor  of 
building  no  better  than  thrown  away.  And,  again,  there  is  no 
necessity  for  having  so  narrow  spaces  between  the  boards.  A 
space  of  three  or  four  inches  wide  between  the  first  and  second 
boards  at  the  bottom  is  narrow  enough  ;  and  any  small  animals, 
pigs  or  lambs,  that  will  go  under  the  bottom  board  when  it  is  three 
inches  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  or  through  a  space  four 
inches  wide,  above  the  bottom  board,  will  seldom  do  any  damage 
on  the  other  side  of  the  fence.  An  animal  must  be  very  small 
to  be  able  to  pass  through  horizontal  spaces  only  four  inches  in 
width.  Allowing,  then,  a  space  of  three  inches  below  the  bottom 
board,  and  four  inches  between  the  first  and  second  boards,  when 
they  are  not  less  than  four  and  a  half  inches  wide,  the  space  be 
tween  the  second  and  third  boards  may  be  five  inches  wide,  with 
out  any  danger  of  pigs  or  lambs  passing  through  it ;  for  any  pig 
or  lamb  that  can  go  through  a  five-inch  space,  cannot  possibly 
get  through  such  a  space  when  it  is  seventeen  inches  above  the 
ground  on  which  the  animal  is  standing,  unless  it  should  be  a 
descendant  of  the  illustrious  tribe  of  swine  denominated  "  land 
pikes"  or  "  alligators,"  or  some  mountain  ranger  of  the  sheep  race. 
After  a  fence  is  built  thirty  inches  high,  if  the  spaces  are  just 
narrow  enough  to  prevent  cattle  and  horses  from  thrusting  their 
heads  between  the  boards,  there  will  be  no  apprehensions  that 
sheep  will  be  able  to  get  through  them.  There  is  no  necessity 
whatever  in  making  any  of  the  spaces,  which  may  be  above  two 
feet  from  the  surface  of  the  ground,  less  than  seven  inches  wide  ; 
for  no  sheep  nor  swine  can  get  through  a  space  of  seven  inches, 
when  it  is  above  two  feet  from  the  ground.  And  there  should 
be  no  space  more  than  ten  inches  wide,  or  eleven,  at  the  most. 
The  upper  space  is  often  made  one  foot  wide.  But  that  is  too 
wide  ;  for  horses  and  horned  cattle  of  many  kinds  will  thrust  their 
heads  through  the  fence  in  a  space  of  twelve  inches.  But  in  a 
space  of  ten  inches  there  is  not  room  for  the  heads  of  ordinary 


100  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

cattle  and  horses.  The  builder,  in  building  a  board  fence,  can 
always  calculate  for  himself  on  the  width  of  spaces.  If  cattle 
more  than  one  year  old,  and  horses,  only,  are  to  be  fenced  against, 
it  will  be  entirely  safe,  unless  animals  are  quite  unruly,  to  make 
all  the  spaces  ten  inches  wide.  In  fencing  against  calves,  the 
spaces  below  thirty  inches  from  the  ground  should  not  be  ten 
inches  wide ;  because  calves,  and  even  most  yearlings,  can  thrust 
their  heads  through  a  space  of  ten  inches. 

119.  We  will  now  show  by  illustration  what  we  consider  as 
economical,  substantial,   symmetrical,  and  tasty  a  board  fence  as 
can  be  erected,  when  there  is  no  ridge  of  earth  along  the  fence. 
We  never  consider  a  fence  the  most  economical  that  can  be  built, 
when  it  is  necessary  to  build  a  fence  from  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
that  has  not  a  ridge  of  earth  below  the  boards;  because  a  ridge  of 
earth  twenty  or  more  inches  high  may  be  cast  up  at  less  than 
half  the  expense  of  purchasing  other  materials  for  fencing  to  such 
a  height,  making  no  account  of  the  labor  of  putting  them  up. 
But  as  it  is  not  always  desirable,  and  sometimes  very  objectiona 
ble,  to  have  a  ridge  of  earth  beneath  a  fence,  we  will  calculate 
it  from  the  surface  of  the  ground.     In  all  localities  where  animals 
of  every  description  are  allowed  to  roam,  lawlessly,  in  the  high 
way,  a  fence  along  the  sides  of  the  highway  is  usually  required  to 
be  a  little  better  than  the  ordinary  fences  of  the  farm.     Along  the 
highway  it  is  often  necessary  to  fence  against  all  varieties  of  dis 
orderly  animals  which  belong  to  the  dumb  brutes  of  the  fair  crea 
tion,  saying  nothing  of  fencing  against  bipeds,  which  are  most 
stupendously  stupid,  which  run  in  the  highways ;  and  consequently 
a  fence  is  needed  which  will  offer  a  resistance  fully  adequate  to 
the  exigency  of  the  circumstances. 

120.  A  board  which  is  sixteen  feet  long,  four  and  a  half  inches 
wide,  and  not  less  than  one  inch  in  thickness,  if  it  is  of  sound 
timber  when  made  into  fence,  as  it  ought  to  be,  will  not  give  way 
beneath  the  weight  of  a  heavy  man  when  he  is  climbing  over  the 
fence,  and  it  will  resist  a  much  greater  lateral  thrust  than  we 
would  ordinarily  suppose ;  and  if  the  top  board  be  covered  with  a 
cap  board  four  inches  wide   and   an  inch  and  a  quarter  thick,  if 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  101 

of  good  timber,  a  horse  or  steer  may  mount  on  it  and  hang  there 
until  he  becomes  satisfied  that  his  weight  will  not  break  down 
the  fence ;  but  the  timber  must  be  free  from  knots  and  curls,  and 
places  where  the  grain  runs  crosswise  of  the  boards.  If  a  board 
four  and  a  half  inches  wide  will  sustain  such  a  weight  and  resist 
such  a  thrust  as  have  been  mentioned,  it  cannot  be  considered  as 
the  best  economy  to  saw  boards  for  fence  over  four  and  a  half 
inches  in  width,  and  sixteen  feet  long ;  and  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  boards  of  these  dimensions  are  sawed  up  in  the  most  econom 
ical  manner  for  fences ;  but  if  the  timber  be  full  of  knots,  and  is 
"cross-grained,"  it  would  be  more  economical,  and  wiser  policy, 
to  saw  some  of  them  at  least  eight  inches  wide.  With  these  con 
siderations,  the  builder  will  be  able  to  determine  with  propriety 
what  sizes,  length,  breadth  and  thickness,  will  be 

THE    MOST    ECONOMICAL    DIMENSIONS    OF    FENCE    BOAKDS. 

121.  In  order  to  save  fence  posts,  the  logs  for  boards  should 
be  cut  sixteen  feet  long,  besides  the  stub-shot.  "With  this  length 
the  posts  should  be  set  just  eight  feet  apart,  from  centre  to  centre. 
There  can  be  no  objection  to  cutting  logs  for  fencing  eighteen  or 
twenty  feet  long ;  but  with  that  length  of  boards,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  have  more  than  two  posts  to  each  panel,  for  a  dis 
tance  of  more  than  eight  feet  between  posts,  when  the  boards  are 
only  four  and  a  half  inches  wide,  would  be  rather  too  great ;  but 
if  boards  were  sawed  proportionally  wider — and  in  no  case  should 
fence  boards  be  sawed  less  than  a  plump  inch  in  thickness — there 
could  be  no  objection  to  cutting  the  logs  eighteen  or  twenty  feet 
long,  and  in  setting  the  posts  nine  or  ten  feet  apart.  It  would 
be  far  better  policy  to  saw  fence  boards  that  are  four  and  a  half 
inches  wide,  one  and  one-eighth  or  one  and  one-fourth  inches 
thick,  instead  of  sawing  them  one  inch  or  less  in  thickness. 
Fence  boards,  when  not  well  painted,  become  thinner  every  year 
by  the  wearing  away  of  the  grain,  caused  by  the  influences  of 
wet  and  dry  weather,  and  consequently  every  board  becomes  less 
strong  year  by  year. 


102  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

122.  Fig.  30    represents  a  style  of  board   fence  which  will 
turn,    most  effectually,  horses,  horned  cattle,   sheep,   lambs  and 
swine,  if  they  are  not  incorrigibly  unruly,   and  which,   in  the 

judgment  of  our  civil  fence 

law,  would  be  considered 

'pl.q..,ff.i.iilmi'iHi.i.lilniii^!iil.Bn;llHllil,ltlj1:t,  .....  ^  ......  ,„•  ...........  >m,,m;(  ......  A,,,!,,..,)   a  lawful  fence,  either  along 

IB  I  I         10  II        the  highway  side    or  be- 

I         7  IT        tween  the  adjoining  farms. 


4Xt         |*|         5          n''|    |    Some  of  our  great  sticklers 
~  -  TT  -  -JL  -  ITT  —     for  wide  boards  at  the  bot- 


l**1 _*.._ W.*j._.  torn  may  take  some  excep 
tions  to  it;  but  if  fields  are 
inclosed  with  such  a  fence, 
the  proprietor,  and  all  the 
HIGHWAY  BIDB  BOARD  FENCE,  FouB  AND  A  HALF  force  of  the  farm,  may  lie 
FEET  HIGH-  down  to  rest  without  en 
tertaining  any  fears  that  any  of  their  animals  will  get  on  forbid 
den  ground  through  or  over  such  a  fence.  It  will  be  seen  by  the 
figure  that  it  is  fifty-three  and  a  half  inches  high,  including  the 
cap  board,  and  if  that  were  one  and  a  half  inches  thick,  which 
would  be  economy,  the  fence  would  be  four  and  a  half  feet  high. 
The  posts  are  set  eight  feet  apart,  from  centre  to  centre,  perpen 
dicularly,  and  a  line  struck  on  the  sides  of  the  posts  for  the  top 
board,  according  to  the  manner  shown  at  paragraph  152 ;  and  if 
but  one  workman  is  employed  in  building  the  fence,  to  aid  in 
holding  up  the  ends  of  the  boards  he  will  find  it  very  advanta 
geous  to  use  two  gauge  boards,  like  Fig.  31,  which  are  very  im 
portant  in  building  a  board  fence,  in  order  to  prevent  mistakes  in 
the  spaces.  When  two  such  boards  are  used,  the  lower  ends  can 
be  set  on  the  ground,  and  the  top  fastened  near  the  top  of  a  post, 
by  driving  in  a  nail  a  little,  just  sufficient  to  hold  it  while  all  the 
boards  of  one  panel  are  being  put  up  ;  two  such  boards  would  be 
of  far  more  practical  utility  to  a  good  workman,  than  any  two 
boys  from  the  Emerald  Isle,  because  the  gauge  boards  would  al 
ways  hold  them  in  the  right  place.  The  boards  should  "break 
joint"  on  every  alternate  post,  because  it  renders  a  fence  stronger 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


103 


than  to  have  all  the  joints  on  one  post.  Not  less 
than  two  eight -penny  fence  nails  should  be  used  in 
a  place.  The  whole  fence  may  be  planed  and  painted, 
or  not,  as  desired ;  but  in  either  case,  the  face  sides  ] 
of  the  posts,  and  thflse  parts  of  the  boards  which  come  | 
in  contact  with  the  posts,  should  be  painted,  or  smeared  j 
with  coal  tar,  to  prevent  their  decaying.  After  the  i 
boards  are  all  nailed  on,  the  efficiency  and  strength  of 
the  fence  will  be  much  increased  by  nailing  on  battens, 
four  inches  wide,  over  the  boards  on  each  post.  The 
insides  of  the  battens  and  the  fence  boards,  where  they  are  nailed, 
should  be  painted.  Much  care  should  be  exercised  in  nailing  on 
the  battens,  lest  the  large  nails  split  the  ends  of  the  fence  boards. 
If  the  nails  are  very  large,  holes  should  be  bored  through  both 
battens  and  boards  for  the  nails.  Some  fence  makers  consider  it 
very  important  to  fit  pieces  of  boards  in  the  spaces  between  all 
the  boards,  and  nail  them  to  the  posts  ;  but  if  a  fence  is  well  bat 
tened,  and  if  the  nails  which  hold  the  battens  are  driven  near  the 
lower  edges  of  the  fence  boards,  pieces  in  the  spaces  will  not  pay 
for  the  labor  of  fitting  them  and  putting  them  in.  After  the 
battens  are  all  nailed  on,  let  the  tops  of  posts  be  sawed  off  square, 
and  the  cap  board  firmly  nailed  on.  This  should  be  four  inches 
wide,  so  as  to  cover  the  top  ends  of  the  posts  and  the  top  board 
and  the  batten.  If  it  should  be  desirable  to  case  all  the  posts  of 
such  a  fence,  or  every  second  post,  the  manner  and  style  of  doing 
it  may  be  seen  at  Fig.  32, 

123.  Which  represents  a  style  of  fence  which  is  almost  uni 
versally  admired,  especially  by  the  farmers'  wives.  The  fence  is 
designed  to  be  planed  and  painted,  and  a  part  or  all  of  the  posts 
cased.  The  face  casings  are  eight  inches  wide,  and  extend  ten 
or  eleven  inches  above  the  top  of  the  fence.  The  tops  of  cases 
are  finished  with  square  pieces  of  plank,  or  with  a  pyramidal  top, 
made  of  inch  boards.  The  boards  are  all  nailed  on  the  posts, 
and  then  the  face  casings  to  posts  are  nailed  on,  as  if  they  were 
battens.  The  side  casings  are  then  fitted  by  cutting  gains  in 
them  for  the  fence  boards,  and  they  are  nailed  to  the  face  casings. 


104 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


The  side  casings  are  six  inches  wide.  This  makes  a  case  eight 
inches  square.  If  every  alternate  post  is  cased,  the  remainder 
should  be  battened,  as  shown  in  the  figure.  There  is  no  economy 
in  casing  posts,  and  it  is  done  merely  to  please  the  fancy.  For 

FIG.  32. 


LAWN   FENCE. 


my  own  part,  I  do  not  approve  of  casing  but  few  posts ;  and  I 
may  be  allowed  to  say,  that  the  majority  of  people  are  quite  as 
well  pleased  with  the  appearance  of  such  a  fence,  when  only  the 
gate  posts  and  those  at  the  corners  of  the  yard  are  cased,  as  when 
every  post  or  every  second  post  is  cased.  It  increases  the  expense 
of  a  fence  very  much  to  case  all  the  posts,  and  they  are  by  no 
means  ornaments  of  good  taste  and  of  rural  beauty.  For  a  fence 
which  encircles  a  huge  cathedral  of  the  Corinthian  style  of  archi 
tecture,  cased  posts  for  a  board  fence  would  seem  to  be  in  better 
•taste  and  harmony  than  around  a  plain  country  residence  of  a 
farmer.  The  fence,  as  represented  by  Fig.  32,  is  forty-five  inches 
high,  including  the  cap  board.  There  is  one  objection  to  it, 
however,  and  that  is,  it  is  not  high  enough  to  suit  most  men. 
But  the  eight-inch  space  might  be  .made  two  inches  wider,  and 
the  bottom  board  might  be  slit  in  two,  and  a  space  between  the 
two  pieces  thre"e  inches  wide.  There  is  a  width  of  boards,  aside 
from  the  cap  in  this  fence,  of  twenty-two  inches,  and  in  Fig.  30 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


105 


there  is  a  width  of  twenty-two  and  a  half  inches,  but  about  a  foot 
difference  in  the  height  of  the  fences.  The  builder  can  choose 
either,  or  reject  both,  or  make  the  spaces  a  little  wider  or  nar 
rower,  to  suit  his  caprice. 


DIVISION   FENCE. 

124.  Fig.  33  represents  a  style  of  board  fence  which  almost 
every  farmer  likes,  because  of  its  efficiency  and  cheapness  and 
durability.  It  is  four  and  a  half  feet  high,  with  boards  sixteen 
33  or  more  feet  long,  and  four 

and  a  half  inches  wide, 
and  only  three  to  a  panel. 
— •"  The  spaces  are  the  same 
^  as  in  the  fence  at  Fig.  30. 
There  are  no  cap  boards  to 
this  fence.  The  great  ex 
cellence  of  this  fence  con 
sists  in  its  permanence,  and 
the  facility  with  which  it 
can  be  made.  The  posts 
are  set  as  shown  at  Fig.  34 ;  and  any  one  can  see  at  a  glance 
that  such  a  mode  of  setting  posts  will  render  a  fence  far  more 
substantial,  and  much  less  liable  to  be  made  to  lean  either  way 
by  any  influence  which  causes  a  fence  to  deviate  from  a  perpen- 


...j 


I    I 

!....! 


.. 


DIVISION  FENCE. 


FIG.  34. 


MANNER  OF  SETTING  FENCE  FOOTS  FOR  A  DIVISION  FENCE. 


dicular  position.  The  boards  of  each  panel  are  independent  of 
each  other ;  they  may  all  be  put  up  without  any  sawing  off  In 
making  a  fence  of  this  style,  all  the  posts  at  the  ends  of  the 


106  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

boards  should  be  set  on  a  line  with  each  other ;  and  then  the 
posts,  at  the  middle  of  the  boards,  should  be  set  about  half  an 
inch  on  the  other  side  of  the  line.  There  is  no  face  side  to  such 
a  fence,  both  sides  being  alike,  and  there  are  no  joints  to  make, 
nor  to  break,  as  in  fences  of  other  styles.  After  the  boards  are 
all  nailed  on,  a  ridge  of  earth,  twenty  two  inches  high,  should  be 
cast  up  under  the  boards,  and  seeded  with  grass.  As  the  grass 
seed  sometimes  all  washes  from  the  top  of  such  a  ridge,  a  row  of 
sods  should  be  laid  on  the  top  of  it,  beneath  the  bottom  boards. 


SELF-SUSTAINING   BOARD    FENCES 

125.  Are  the  most  disagreeable  nuisances  that  ever  dishonored 
a  farm.  It  is  perfectly  ridiculous  to  talk  of  making  a  good  self- 
sustaining  board  fence  that  will  bear  any  worthy  comparison  with 
a  good  post  and  board  fence,  either  in  point  of  cheapness  or  per 
manency.  I  have  never  seen  a  model  of  a  self-sustaining  board 
fence  (unless  it  had  as  much  worm,  or  even  more,  than  a  rail 
fence)  which  was  fit  for  any  other  purpose  than  to  entrap  the 
credulous,  or  to  be  kept  in  the  museum.  I  am  well  aware  that 
there  are  several  styles  of  self-sustaining  patent  board  fences, 
which  have  been  extolled  to  the  clouds,  and  which,  at  first  sight, 
appear  to  be  a  great  improvement  in  fencing.  They  look  well, 
and  seem  to  stand  permanently ;  but  after  a  few — yes,  very  few — 
years  of  exposure  to  the  influences  of  the  weather,  they  begin  to 
twist  and  warp,  and  give  way  in  important  places  by  decaying 
or  shrinking,  so  that  they  soon  become  as  "shackling"  as  a 
rickety  old  wagon.  When  it  becomes  necessary  to  give  much 
worm  to  a  board  fence,  in  order  to  save  posts,  any  good  arithme 
tician  can  show  by  figures,  in  a  few  moments,  how  many  more 
feet  of  boards  it  will  require  to  build  a  zigzag  fence  than  a 
straight  one,  and  it  will  be  easy  to  show  how  many  feet  of  boards 
will  be  used  up  in  making  locks  and  cleats,  and  such  like,  for 
the  purpose  of  holding  the  fence  erect.  He  can  then  calculate 
how  much  that  redundant  lumber  is  worth,  which  ia  required  to 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  107 

build  a  zigzag  board  fence,  over  and  above  what  is  required  to 
build  a  straight  fence.     After  this,  calculations  may  be  made  for 
posts ;  and  the  cost  of  posts  for  a  straight  fence  compared  with 
the  cost  for  a  redundant  quantity  of  lumber  for  a  zigzag  fence. 
A  zigzag,  self-sustaining  fence  cannot  be  made  without  using  up 
lumber  of  some  kind  for  locks  and  cleats,  nearly  as  many  feet  as 
there  are  in  a  post.     And  so  with  a  straight  fence :  there  must 
of  necessity  be  about  so  many  square  feet  of  lumber  for  the 
standard,  and  cross-pieces  and  sills,  or  locks  and  stakes,  as  the 
case  may  be ;  and  there  is  more  or  less  waste  in  working  up  such 
material,  and  by  close  calculation  it  will,  in  most  instances,  equal 
the  amount  of  lumber  in  the  posts  required  for  a  panel.     If  self- 
sustaining  fences  would  continue  to  be  permanent  for  as  many 
years  as  a  post  fence,  there  would  be  some  good  encouragement 
for  adopting  that  style  of  fence,  but  the  standards  will  shrink,  and 
the  locks  will  become  loose,  and  if  the  cross  pieces  are  not  painted 
where  they  are  joined  together,  they  will  soon  rot  away;  and  the 
stakes,  or  pins,  unless  of  the  best  of  timber,  and  nearly  as  large 
as  a  fence  post,  will  soon  become  loose  and  rotten,  and  the  first 
heavy  gale  of  wind  will  scatter  the  fragments  as  if  it  were  a  little 
boy's  cob  house.    Patentees  of  self-sustaining  fences  will  denounce 
me  as  a  ninny  for  such  words  against  their  fences ;  but  unless 
there  shall  a  style  of  fence  appear,  which  has  never  come  under 
my  observation,  entirely  different  from  any  that  is  now  in  use» 
what  has  been  penned  will  prove  true  to  the  letter  in  the  experi 
ence  of  every  one  who  may  give  such  fences  a  fair  trial.    A  good 
post  and  board  fence  is  the  fence  for  thrifty  farmers;  one  that  will 
stand  firmly  and  erect,  without  repairs,  for  a  score  of  years ;  and 
one  that  will  not  crouch,  like  a  sneaking  cur  before  a  bullock, 
when  he  shakes  his  horns  at  it.     "When  fence  posts  can  be  pur 
chased  for  ten  or  twelve  cents  each,  it  will  be  the  wisest  policy 
and  the  cheapest,  and  infinitely  better  in  the  end,  to  make  post 
and  board  fences,  instead  of  being  perplexed  with  such  vexatious 
appendages  as  self-sustaining  board  fences. 

126.     But  as  there  is  such  an  insatiable  thirst  in  many  Ameri 
cans  for  new  things,  I  deem  it  best  to  furnish  some  specimens  of 


108 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


self-sustaining  fence;  and  those  who  choose  can  adopt  them  in 
fence  building,  if  they  prefer  either  style,  to  a  post  and  board  fence. 
There  are  a  number  of  patents  on  self-sustaining  zigzag  board 
fences,  which,  when  they  are  new,  appear  quite  substantial  and 
efficient ;  but  I  consider  them  a  poor  apology  for  a  fence.  If  a 
self-sustaining  board  fence  is  needed  of  a  zigzag  style,  the  best 
way  is,  to  nail  the  boards  to  pieces  of  scantling  as  long  as  the 
height  of  the  fence,  having  the  corner  standards,  to  which  one  end 
of  two  panels  is  nailed,  standing  on  flat  stone.  But  such  a  style 
of  fence  requires  one-third  more  lumber  than  a  straight  fence, 
although  it  will  be  almost  equal  to  a  post  fence  in  point  of  perma 
nency  and  durability ;  and  it  will  occupy  a  large  space  of  ground, 
too  much  for  an  ordinary  fence.  It  is  poor  economy  to  build  a  zig 
zag  board  fence.  All  self-sustaining  fences  that  I  have  ever  seen, 
were  very  deficient  in  point  of  durability  for  a  number  of  years. 
But  there  are  several  styles  of  board  fence  which  are  not  exactly 
self-sustaining,  although  they  pass  under  that  name.  For  a  per 
manent  fence,  let  me  have  a  good  ,_, 
post  and  board  fence,  even  when  a 
self-sustaining  fence  can  be  made  for 
about  half  the  expense  of  it ;  and,  at 
the  end  of  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years,  if  the  expense  is  not  in  favor 
of  the  post  and  board  fence,  I  am  no 
arithmetician. 

127.  It  is  very  convenient,  many 
times,  to  have  what  is  called  a  surface 
fence  ;  and  in  some  localities,  where 
the  soil  is  not  deep  enough  to  set 
fence  posts  on  account  of  rocks,  it  is 
desirable  to  have  some  device  by 
means  of  which  the  standards  of  a 
fence  may  be  kept  erect.  At  Fig. 

35  is  a  representation  of  a  standard  STAND AED  FOB  SURFACE 

for  board  fence,  which  subserves  a 
very  good  purpose  for  that  object,  and  many  prefer  it  to  posts. 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


109 


a  a  are  two  standards,  made  of  1 J  inch  lumber,  about  seven 
inches  wide  at  bottom  and  three  at  top,  with  gains  sawed  in  the 
edges  for  receiving  the  ends  of  the  fence  boards.  &  is  a  sill, 
about  three  feet  long,  two  inches  thick,  and  four  inches  wide.  The 
two  standards  pass  through  the  sill,  and  are  fastened  with  keys  on 
the  under  side  of  it.  Keys  are  preferable  to  pins,  because,  if  the 
standards  shrink  a  little,  they  can  be  tightened  a  little  with  keys ; 
but  with  pins  through  the  sills,  they  could  not  be  tightened 
so  readily.  The  tops  of  the  standards  are  fastened  with  a  band, 
or  small  carriage  bolt,  after  the  boards  are  put  in  the  gains. 
The  ends  of  the  sills  are  supported  by  flat  stones,  or  blocks  of 
wood,  and  kept  in  place  by  stakes  well  driven  into  the  ground, 
as  at  c.  The  gains  in  every  alternate  standard  may  be  just 
wide  enough  to  receive  the  thickness  of  each  board.  Notch 
es  are  sawed  in  one  side  of  the  boards  to  prevent  their  slid 
ing  endwise.  This  style  of  fence  is  made  without  any  nails, 
and  it  can  all  be  made  in 
the  workshop,  and  carried 
to  the  field,  and  put  up 
in  a  short  period  of  time. 
If  it  is  preferred,  stakes 

FIG.  36. 


FIG.  37. 


STANDARD   FOR  8UKFACE 
BOAED  FENCB. 


GABRIEL'S  PATENT  POBTABLE  BOARD 

FENCE. 


can  be  driven  through  holes  near  the  ends  of  the  sills  for  holding 
them  in  place. 


110  THE   YOUNG  FARMER^  MANUAL. 

128.  Fig.  36  represents  a  different  style  of  standard.  The 
sills  may  be  about  two  by  four  inches  square,  with  the  standards 
passing  through  and  keyed  on  the  under  side.  Each  side  is 
braced  with  wires,  twisted  together  to  hold  it  firm.  "When  wire 
braces  are  used  and  twisted  up  tightly,  there  is  no  need  of  keying  or 
pinning  the  standard.  The  gains  may  be  sawed  in  the  standard 
with  a  circular  saw,  about  half  an  inch  deep,  and  the  boards 
nailed  to  it.  Large  flat  stones  may  be  used  for  sills ;  or,  the 
standards  may  be  set  on  a  rock,  and  the  bottom  kept  from  moving 
by  drilling  a  half-inch  hole  one  inch  deep  in  the  rock,  and  two 
inches  deep  in  the  bottom  of  the  standard,  and  putting  in  a  half- 
inch  iron  dowel  pin.  Holes  are  drilled  for  the  wire  braces,  and 
made  fast  in  the  rocks  by  melted  lead,  and  the  wires  afterwards 
twisted  together.  Or  a  heavy  stone  may  be  placed  on  each  end 
of  a  sill,  to  keep  the  fence  in  the  proper  position ;  but  it  will  require 
nearly  as  much  timber  for  the  sills  and  standards  as  it  would  for 
posts ;  and  it  will  require  more  labor  to  make  the  standards,  than 
it  would  to  set  the  posts  three  feet  deep. 

129.  Fig.  37  represents  Gabriel's  patent  portable  board  fence 
standard,  which  appears  to  meet  with  much  approbation  by  most 
farmers,  a  a  are  standards  made  of  inch  boards,  fastened  to  the 
top  after  the  boards  are  put  in  the  gains  by  a  wooden  yoke,  or  a 
little  band  of  iron  e;  c  c  is  a  horizontal  strip  of  board,  about  thirty 
inches  long  and  five  wide ;  and  the  standards  may  be  nailed  or 
screwed  to  it  at  the  bottom.  5  b  are  two  pieces  of  boards  fitted 
neatly  between  the  stakes  d  d  and  the  standards,  and  firmly  nailed 
to  the  board  c  c.  The  stakes  d  d  are  one  inch  thick.  Another 
board  of  the  size  of  c  c  must  be  nailed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
standards.  The  standards  may  extend  below  the  sills,  as  shown  by 
the  dotted  lines,  and  the  fence  rest  on  these  points ;  or  the  ends 
of  the  sills  may  rest  on  stones.  The  standards  for  this  fence  may 
all  be  made  in  the  workshop  ;  but  if  the  fence  is  to  be  set  up  where 
it  deviates  from  one  direct  horizontal  line,  the  gains  in  the  edges 
of  the  fence  boards  should  not  be  made  until  the  time  when  the 
fence  is  to  be  put  up.  In  making  such  a  fence  up  or  down  a  hill,  the 
standards  should  all  be  set  perpendicularly,  and  not  at  a  right 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL.  Ill 

angle  with  the  surface  of  the  ground.     Many  farmers  like  a  style 
of  fence  called 

HALF  WIRE  AND  HALF  WOOD  FENCE, 

130.  Or,  a  board  and  wire  fence.     The  posts  for  such  a  fence 
may  be  set,  as  shown  at  Fig.  34,  paragraph  124,  and  a  top  board 
and  bottom  board  be  nailed  on  above  the  ridge  of  earth,  and  two  or 
three  wires  fastened  on  the  posts, .  between  these  boards,  with 
staples.     Three  wires  between  the  bottom  and  top  boards,  when 
there  is  a  ridge  of  earth  along  the  fence,  will  turn  sheep. 

131.  I  have  a  fence  four  and  a  half  feet  high,  thirty  rods  in 
length,  with  only  a  top  sugar  maple-board  four  inches  wide,  and 
three  number  eleven  wires  below  it,  with  a  ridge  of  earth  twenty 
inches  high,  which  has  turned  most  effectually,  ever  since  it  was 
built,  (four  years  since,)  calves,  cows,  oxen,  horses  and  colts;  and 
they  have  never  broken  a  wire,  although  crops  were  always  on 
the  other  side  of  it.     I  own  a  young  bull,  which  made  many 
desperate  efforts  to  get  through  it,  without  any  success.     The 
posts  are  eight  feet  apart,  and  the  wires  were  never  strained  as 
they  ought  to  have  been,  because  it  was  my  first  experiment  in 
using  wire  ;  and  I  see  no  reason,  at  present,  why  that  fence  will 
not  remain  permanent,  as  it  now  is,  for  ten  or  fifteen  years  to 
come.     I  state  this  to  show  what  three  small  wires  and  one  nar 
row  board  have  done. 

132.  Fig.  38  represents  a  substantial  barn-yard  board  fence. 
As  such  fences  should  always  be  tight,  i.  e.,  no  spaces  between 
the  boards,  on  account  of  shielding  animals  from  cold  winds  when 
they  are  not  in  their  stalls,  the  best,  neatest,  and  most  economical 
manner  of  building  them  is,  to  set  the  posts  three  feet  deep,  and 
frame  the  rails,  which  should  be  of  scantling,  not  less  than  three 
by  three  inches  square,  from  post  to  post,  as  in  building  picket 
fence,  and  nail  the  boards   to  the  corners   instead   of  the  sides 
of  the  rails.     (See  Fig.  49.)      Such   a   fence  should   be    about 
six  feet  high.     In  that  case  the  top  rail  should  be  about  four 
feet  from  the  ground,  and  the  bottom   rail  about  twenty  inches 
from    the    ground.       It  looks    better  and  is  better,    all    things 

5* 


112 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


considered,  to  allow  the  boards  to  extend  nearly  to  the  ground, 
instead  of  nailing  on  a  bottom  board,  horizontally,  below  the 
vertical  boards,  as  is  often  done ;  and,  more  than  all  this, 

FIG.  38. 


*       i 

U 


SECTION  OF  BARN- YARD  FENCE. 

boards  will  not  wear  out  as  soon  in  the  weather,  when  placed 
vertically,  as  when  in  a  horizontal  position.  It  is  a  good  idea  to 
place  a  row  of  flat  stones  under  the  bottom  of  the  boards  of  such 
a  fence,  in  order  to  keep  them  dryer,  by  keeping  away  weeds  and 
grass.  After  the  boards  are  nailed  on  the  yard  side  of  the  fence, 
battens  two  inches  wide,  portions  of  which  are  shown,  should  be 
nailed  over  the  boards,  into  each  rail,  with  large  nails.  A  line 
should  then  be  struck  at  the  tops  of  the  boards,  and  all  sawed  off 
straight,  and  a  cap  nailed  on  the  top  of  the  boards,  which  is  made 
of  strips  of  two-inch  plank,  two  and  a  half  or  three  inches  wide, 
and  two  inches  thick,  with  a  groove  half  an  inch  deep,  and  an 
inch  wide  on  the  under  side  of  it,  for  receiving  the  tops  of  the 
boards.  The  corners  of  the  cap  are  to  be  planed  off  before  nail 
ing  on.  This  cap  keeps  the  tops  of  boards  dry,  and  prevents 
their  springing,  and  warping  in  and  out,  and  makes  a  fence  much 
stronger,  besides  adding  very  greatly  to  its  workmanlike  appear 
ance.  If  it  is  preferred  to  cut  picket  points  in  the  top  ends  of 
the  boards,  it  can  be  done  most  expeditiously  by  marking  them 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


113 


all  out  with  a  pattern,  and  cutting  them  with  a  circular  horse 
saw. 

THE    RIB    FENCE. 

133.  Fig.  39  represents  a  kind  of  fence  which  suits  the  fancy 
of  some  men  better  than  any  other  style  of  fence.     The  posts 
are  about  five  or  six  inches  FI(J.  39. 

square,  and  three-inch  holes 
bored  in  the  sides,  two  inches  / 
deep,  for  the  ribs.  The  ribs 
are  about  two  and  a  half 
inches  square.  They  may 
enter  the  posts  by  mortise 
and  tenon,  although  that 
style  increases  the  labor  of 
making  it.  The  ribs,  if 
square,  should  be  put  in  as 
shown  in  the  cut,  with  one 
corner  upwards  and  one 

downwards,  as  they  will  make  less  space  between  them  than  if 
they  were  placed  with  a  flat  side  up.  The  ribs  should  be  about 
eight  feet  long,  and  with  the  corners  cut  off  a  little  the  ends  will 
enter  a  three-inch  hole.  (See  BORING  POSTS  WITH  BORING  MA 
CHINE,  Fig.  122.) 

134.  By  adjusting  a  three-inch  auger  by  the  side  of  a  railway 
horse-power,  so  as  to  make  about  as  many  revolutions  in  a  minute 
as  the  band  wheel,  with  one  horse  a  man  could  bore  a  large  lot 
of  posts  in  a  few  hours.     And  as  the  ribs  are  put  up  when  the 
posts  are  set,  one  workman  would  be  able  to  put  up  a  long  string 
of  it  in  a  day.     A  line  should  be  stretched,  when  setting  the 
posts,  parallel  with  the  top  rib,  so  that  one  panel  will  not  pitch 
clown  nor  slant  up  too  much.     "When  the  ribs  are  put  in  place 
the  ends  should  be  well  painted.     This  is  a  very  economical  and 
substantial  fence,  requiring  no  nails,  pins,  nor  wir-e.s.     Should  ^ 
rail  or  rib  get  broken  at  the  middle  of  a  fence,  dig  one  post  loosq 
on  one  side  of  it,  and  lean  it  to  one  side  of  the  fence   and  put  ii} 
a  new  rib,  and  then  set  it  up  and  fasten  the  post  in  its  former 


114  THE  YOUNG   FARMERS  MANUAL. 

erect  position.  Five  ribs  in  that  position  will  give  a  width  of 
nearly  eighteen  inches,  and  the  spaces  thirty  inches,  which  makes 
a  fence  four  feet  high ;  but  the  two  lower  ribs  may  be  left  out 
and  a  ridge  of  earth  thrown  up  in  their  place,  which  would  be 
as  effectual  as  a  fence  five  feet  high.  A  two-inch  round  tenon  at 
the  ends  of  the  ribs  would  be  proportionally  stronger  than  the 
middle  of  the  same  stick,  eight  or  ten  feet  long,  when  of  the  size 
mentioned.  Where  the  timber  is  all  hard  wood,  it  would  be 
quite  as  economical  to  saw  it  into  ribs  two  and  a  half  inches  square 
as  into  inch  boards ;  and  put  them  up  with  nails,  because  boards 
of  hard  wood  are,  sometimes,  ugly  and  hard  things  to  drive  nails 
through  without  boring  them  for  the  nails. 

SECTION    III. WIRE    FENCE. 

"  Glorious  triumphs  wire  brings  ! 
Wire  fences,  wire  springs  ! 
Wire  into  "  hoops  "  is  curled  ! 
Wire  soon  will  span  the  world." — INGEBSOLL. 

135.  The  time  has  been,  and  it  was  but  a  few  years  ago,  too, 
when  wire  fences  were  considered  by  the  great  majority  of  peo 
ple  as  an  unwise  experiment,  which  could  never  possibly  be 
attended  with  success ;  and,  even  in  the  last  decade  of  years,  wire 
fences  have  been  decried  and  condemned  by  many  able  corres 
pondents  of  agricultural  journals,  which  were  sound  on  all  the 
other  ordinary  subjects  connected  with  the  operations  of  the  farm  ; 
and  in  some  instances  the  editors  themselves  have  imbibed  the  false 
inspiration,  and  have  coincided  with  their  respected  correspond 
ents  in  their  views  with  regard  to  the  certain  failure  of  wire 
fences,  and  have  denounced  wire  fence  from  beginning  to  end  as 
an  "  exploded  humbug."  For  many  years  wire  fences  were 
laughed  at  by  almost  every  one  who  passed  by ;  and  every  old 
fogy  would  wag  his  head  and  denounce  the  inventor,  and  build 
ers  also,  as  "  incorrigible  ninnies,"  and  would  utter  all  sorts  of 
most  direful  prognostications  against  wire  fence,  and  everything 
else  that  resembled  it. 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL.  115 

136.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  have  been  scores  and  hun 
dreds  of  instances  in  building  wire  fence,  in  which  it  would  seem 
that  the  experiment  was  a  most  complete  failure ;  and  many  farm 
ers,  who  have  ever  entertained  a  very  favorable  opinion  of  wire 
fences,  when  they  have  come  to  see  the  report  of  those  who 
have  experimented  (very  superficially)  in  building  such  fence, 
"  that  wire  fence  could  not  be  relied  upon  for  protecting  culti 
vated  fields  from  unruly  cattle,"  have  been  fully  deterred  from 
ever  attempting  to  build  a  fence  of  wire,  notwithstanding  their 
own  good  judgment  has  always  seemed  to  be  in  favor  of  such  (a 
fence   as  a  most  complete  success.     If  a  substantial,  permanent, 
and  impassable  fence  can  be  built  of  wire,  what  mean  so  many 
failures  in  building  it  ?     Why  so  many  rods  of  worthless,  ineffi 
cient  obstruction  between  adjoining  fields,  denominated  wire  fence, 
which  animals  of  all  kinds  pass  and  repass  at  pleasure  ?     The 
reason  is  plain,  and  the  remedy  is  very  obvious  and  simple,  and 
the  failures  may  all  be  expressed  in  one  short  sentence — imper 
fect  construction.     Because  one  or  two,  or  one  hundred,  individ 
uals  have  failed  in  building  an  impassable  wire  fence,  it  affords  no 
plausible  reason  why  a  most  permanent  and  impassable  fence 
may  not  be  erected  of  the  same   materials.     We  have  no  hesi 
tancy  in  affirming,  that  the  failures  have  always  been,  without 
one  single  exception,  attributable  to  imperfect  construction,  and 
not  to  any  deficiency  or  imperfection  of  the  materials  used  for 
such  a  purpose. 

137.  But  fences  of  wire  are  no  longer  viewed  as  an  object  of 
doubtful  utility  by  men  of  enterprise  and  of  practical  common 
sense,  in  building  fences  of  any  kind.     Wire  fences,  with  posts  of 
durable  wood  or  of  iron,  are  among  the  most  permanent,  impassable, 
and  economical  fences  which  can  be  erected,  especially  in  locali 
ties  where  materials,  in  the  shape  of  stone  or  wood,  cannot  be 
obtained  at  a  fair  price.     It  argues  a  great  destitution  of   the 
knowledge  of  the  strength  and  efficiency  of  materials,  to  admit 
that  a  wire  fence  cannot  be  erected,  which  will  turn,  most  effect 
ually,  the  most  unruly  animals  that  any  one  has  no  fears  of  giv 
ing  their  liberty  in  the  open  fields. 


116  THE   YOUNG  FARMEK'S  MANUAL. 

138.  The  chief  difficulty,  which  has  been  almost  invariably 
the  cause  of  failure  in  the  permanency  of  a  wire  fence,  is,  the 
snapping  of  the  wires  by  animals  bounding  along,  and  plunging, 
when  in  full  speed,  against  them.  It  is  an  unusual  thing  for  wires 
which  are  destitute  of  flaws,  to  be  broken  by  the  simple  pushing 
and  hooking  of  an  animal.  A  bullock,  or  any  other  animal,  will 
not  thrust  very  powerfully  with  his  nose  or  neck  against  a  bare 
wire,  consequently  a  small  wire  will  resist  effectually  all  the  force 
that  an  animal  is  disposed  to  apply  to  it.  But  when  an  animal 
plunges  against  a  wire  with  rapid  fury,  something  must  give  way, 
or  he  will  be,  perhaps,  a  little  harmed  by  such  an  unceremonious 
rencounter.  If  we  stretch  up  a  lot  of  wires,  and  animals  have 
nothing  to  admonish  them  that  they  are  approaching  an  obstruc 
tion,  when  running  at  full  speed,  a  wire  fence  is  a  dangerous  obstruc 
tion  to  place  in  a  field.  "When  a  wire  fence  is  built  thus,  it  is  very 
imperfectly  constructed ;  and  if  the  wires  should  be  snapped 
asunder,  or  the  fence  completely  demolished,  or  animals  seriously 
injured,  we  need  not  be  filled  with  wonder,  because  something  of 
that  nature  would  be  only  a  natural  and  certain  result.  When 
a  wire  fence  is  erected  in  a  proper  manner,  animals  will  very 
soon  learn  where  it  stands,  and  they  will  no  sooner  plunge  against 
it  than  they  will  against  a  rail  or  a  board  fence.  When  a  wire 
fence  is  built  across  a  field  where  the  ground  is  entirely  smooth 
on  both  sides  of  it,  and  also  where  it  stands,  if  the  posts  are 
some  ten  or  twelve  feet  apart,  and  nothing  but  bare  wires  from 
post  to  post,  colts  and  young  cattle,  when  running,  unless  they 
have  learned  that  there  is  an  impassable  obstruction  along  the 
line  of  posts,  will  be  very  liable  to  attempt  to  pass  between  the 
posts,  when  running  at  full  speed.  But  if  a  ridge  of  earth,  from 
one  to  two  feet  high,  be  thrown  up  along  the  posts,  or  if  a  nar 
row  board  be  nailed  on  the  posts  at  the  top,  or  even  at  the  bot 
tom,  they  will  never  plunge  against  it  when  running.  It  is 
always  best  to  have  a  narrow  board  at  the  top  of  the  posts,  when 
it  can  be  obtained  readily.  But  in  case  boards  are  not  at  hand, 
a  ridge  of  earth  along  the  posts  is  a  consideration  of  the  first 
importance  in  building  wire  fences,  because,  if  animals  do  not  see 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  117 

the  wire  they  will  see  the  ridge  of  earth,  and  will  quickly  learn 
that  wires  are  above  it. 

WIRE. 

139.  "Wire  is  obtained   at  the  manufactory  or  at   hardware 
stores  in  large  coils  ;   and  sometimes  the  wire  of  a  large  coil  will 
be  several  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  sometimes  there  will  be  a 
score  or  more  of  pieces  in  one  coil.     In  purchasing  wire  for  fences, 
the  builder  should  see  to  it  that  the  coils  are  not  all  pieces  of  wire, 
because  it  is  much  more  convenient  to  make  fences  of  long  wire 
than  it  is  of  a  lot  of  pieces,  the  ends  of  which  must  be  firmly 
united  before  they  can  be  used. 

140.  Wire  for  fences  is  usually  annealed  at  the  manufactory  ;  but 
when  it  is  not  annealed  before  it  is  to  be  used,  a  whole  coil  or  more 
may  be  thrown  on  a  brush  heap  when  it  is  burning,  or  a  small 
fire  may  be  kindled  of  wood  for  the  purpose  of  heating  it.     "Wire 
should  not  be  thrown  into  a  fire  where  it  will  become  heated  to  a 
white  heat,  lest  it  become  materially  injured.     All  that  is  neces 
sary  is,  to  place  it  in  a  gentle  fire  that  will  heat  it  all  to  redness ; 
and  then,  by  allowing  it  to  remain  in  the  fire  until  it  has   all 
burned  down,  and  the  wire  has  become  cool,  it  will  be  as  pliable 
almost  as  lead,  and  very  tenacious ;  and  the  ends  may  be  twisted 
together  without  danger  of  breaking  them. 

141.  The  different  sizes  of  fence  wire  are  usually  distinguished 
by  numbers.     The  following,  Fig.  40,  will  give  a  very  correct 

Fia.  40. 


SIZES  OF  FBNOB  WIBB. 

idea  of  the  diameter  of  the  various  sizes,  from  three  to  thirteen, 
which  diminish  regularly  in  size.  No.  3  wire  is  exactly  one- 
fourth  of  an  inch  in  diameter ;  No.  6  is  about  three-sixteenths  in 
diameter  ;  and  No.  11  is  about  one-eighth  in  diameter. 

142.  Fig.  41  represents  the  most  common  mode  of  uniting  the 
ends  of  wires.  In  uniting  the  ends  of  large  wires,  it  is  advisable 
to  have  a  small  fire  at  hand  in  order  to  heat  the  ends  when  they 


118  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

are  to  be  twisted.  An  iron  kettle  full  of  burning  coals  will  sub 
serve  a  good  purpose.  It  is  not  always  an  easy  job  to  unite  the 
ends  of  large  wire  when  they  are  cold :  but  by  heating  them  to 

FIG.  41. 


MANNER  OF  UNITING  THE  WIRES. 

redness  they  may  be  bent  very  readily  without  danger  of  break 
ing  them. 

143.  "When  a  coil  of  wire  is  uncoiled,  the  coil  should  be  rolled 
along  like  a  hoop,  or  hung  on  a  reel,  until  it  is  all  uncoiled ;  be 
cause,  if  it  be  uncoiled  by  allowing  it  to  run  off  at  the  side,  the 
wire  will  be  twisted  just  as  many  times  around  as  there  are  rings 
in  the  coil.     And  twisting  wire  very  often  produces  a  kink  or  a 
number  of  kinks  in  it,  and  causes  it  to  break  before  it  has  been 
strained  to  half  its  proper  tension  for  a  fence.     When  wire  is  to 
be  coiled  up,  instead  of  winding  it  around  anything  as  we  do  a 
cord  or  a  string,  the  coil  should  be  rolled  over  and  over  like  a 
hoop,  in  order  to  avoid  twisting  it,  or  wound  up  on  a  reel. 

144.  The  most  expeditious  manner  of  separating  a  wire,  either 
large  or  small,  is,  to  file  a  groove  with  a  triangular  file  on  two 
opposite  sides;  and  if  the  wire  be  a  large  one,  file  entirely  around 
it,  and  then  bend  it  back  and  forth  a  few  times,  when  it  will  sep 
arate  very  readily.     It  is  by  no  means  an  easy  matter  to  break 
a  piece  of  anne?led  wire  simply  by  bending  it  back  and  forth, 
unless  it  is  held  firmly  by  two  pairs  of  pinchers  or  tongs. 

145.  Doubtless  the  beginner  will  often  be  in  doubt  as  to  the 
most  proper  size  of  wire  for  fences  for  ordinary  purposes.     One 
man  will  recommend  No.  3,  or  4,  or  5,  or  some  other  number,  as 
the  most  suitable ;  but  he  must  exercise  a  little  judgment  of  his 
own  in  this  respect.     As  a  general  rule,  those  farmers  who  have 
built  wire  fences,  and  have  reported  their  success  in  the  Agri 
cultural  journals,  have  used  twice  or  thrice  as  large  wire  as  was 
necessary.     Many  have  insisted  on  Nos.  3  and  4  as  the  only  suit 
able  sizes.     There  can  be  no  disadvantage  in  using  a  large  wire; 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  119 

but  when  a  wire  two-thirds  smaller,  which  costs  only  two-thirds 
as  much,  will  subserve  the  same  purpose  as  a  larger  one,  the  small 
one  is  to  be  preferred.  There  is  no  propriety  whatever  in  using 
No.  3  or  No.  4  wire  in  building  ordinary  fences.  Wire  of  such  a 
size  would  hold  to  draw  out  all  the  posts  to  which  it  might  be 
attached,  without  breaking.  Hitch  a  span  of  horses  to  one  end, 
and  let  us  see  if,  by  fair  drawing,  they  can  separate  it.  By  no 
means,  if  there  are  no  flaws  in  it.  There  can  be  no  consistency 
in  using  wire  for  fences  which  will  resist  three  or  four  times  as 
much  as  the  posts  to  which  they  are  attached.  It  is  much  better, 
and  more  economical  also,  to  use  a  larger  number  of  wires  of  a 
medium  size,  than  to  use  a  few  very  large  ones.  Wire  should 
be  strong  enough  to  resist  the  force  of  the  animals  which  it  is 
designed  to  fence  against.  For  fencing  against  small,  peaceable 
animals,  like  sheep,  No.  12  or  13  wire  is  sufficiently  large  and 
strong ;  and  for  horned  cattle  and  horses,  No.  9  will  turn  any 
thing  that  wears  horns ;  and  any  animal  that  will  thrust 
into  a  fence,  when  it  is  properly  made,  with  force  enough 
to  break  a  sound  No.  1 1  wire,  should  not  have  liberty  in  an 
open  field. 

146.  The  manner  of  fastening  the  wires  to  the  posts  is  a  very 
important  consideration.  Bending  the  wires  around  sharp  cor 
ners  of  the  posts  should  always  be  avoided,  as  wires  are  very 
liable  to  break  when  drawn  tightly  across  a  sharp  corner.  The 
ends  of  the  wires  may  be  fastened  to  the  end  post  of  the  fence, 
by  being  passed  entirely  around  it,  after  the  corners  have  been 
rounded  off  a  little ;  or  they  may  be  put  through  the  post  in  a 
half-inch  hole,  and  the  ends  of  two  of  them  twisted  together;  or, 
after  the  ends  have  been  put  through  the  post,  they  may  be 
wrapped  round  a  rod  of  wood,  and  the  ends  twisted  round  the 
same  wire  ;  or  the  ends,  after  having  been  put  through  the  post, 
may  be  turned  into  holes  in  the  post,  and  plugged  up  tightly 
with  a  hard  wood  plug.  The  wires  may  be  fastened  to  the  inter 
mediate  posts  by  driving  staples  over  them,  or  by  sawing  gains 
in  the  sides  of  the  posts  for  the  wires,  and  nailing  a  strip  of  hard 
wood  on  every  post,  to  keep  the  wires  in  the  gains,  or  gashes. 


120  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

Strips  one  inch  by  two  square  are  sufficiently  large ;  but  if  the 
posts  should  be  square,  they  should  be  about  as  wide  as  the  posts. 
But  the  best  way  of  fastening  the  wires  is,  to  bore  half-inch  holes 
through  the  posts  for  the  wires,  and,  if  thought  best,  pins  of  hard 
wood  may  be  driven  into  each  hole,  which  will  hold  them  firmly. 
A  little  care  and  skill  are  necessary  in  boring  the  holes,  in  order 
to  have  them  straight  with  the  wires.  If  they  should  be  bored 
crooked,  or  not  in  a  line  with  the  wires,  the  wires  will  bind  on 
the  sides  of  the  holes  with  so  much  force  that  it  will  be  very 
difficult,  in  straining  them,  to  bring  them  up  to  the  desired 
tension. 

147.  A  pair  of  pliers  for  holding  the  wire,  and  a  pair  of  pinchers 
for  twisting  it,  are  indispensable  in  putting  up  the  wires,  and  a 
triangular  file  to  aid  in  separating  them. 

148.  Staples  can  be  obtained  at  the  hardware  stores  much 
cheaper  than  they  can  be  made  by  hand.     In  driving  them,  if 
the  posts  are. very  hard,  holes,  a  little    smaller  than  the  staples, 
should  be  bored  in  the  posts,  about  half  the  length  of  the  staples ; 
otherwise  the  posts  will  be  split,  or  the   staples   "  stove  up  "  be 
fore  they  are  half  driven  in  so  as  to  hold  the  wire. 

149.  The  size  of  the  posts  is  another  very  important  matter. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  have  posts  for  wire  fence  as  large  as  they 
are  for  a  board  fence,    providing  they  possess  equal  strength. 
One  very  common  defect  in  wire  fences  have  been  posts  that  were 
too  small.     It  is  necessary  to  have  posts  which  possess  as  much 
strength  for  a  wire  fence  as  for  a  board  fence  ;  otherwise  a  fence 
will  be  very  deficient  in  fair  proportion  and  symmetry.     Many 
farmers  have  recommended  posts  for  wire  fence  only  two  inches 
square.    What  a  lack  of  common  sense  !    Half  a  thrust  by  a  heavy 
horse  or  ox,  unless  such  posts  were  of  the  very  best  timber,  would 
break  them  off  at  the  surface  of  the  ground  ;  and,  more  than  that, 
posts  but  two  inches  square  are  too  small  on  the  score  of  econ 
omy.     It  is  true,  that  the  wood  of  a  small  post  may  not  decay 
sooner  than  a  large  one ;  but,  allowing  that  they  decay  alike, 
when  a  half-inch  or  more  of  the  outside  of  a  small  post  is  gone, 
there  will  be  but  little  remaining  ;  whereas,  a  half-inch  of  the  wood 


THE   YOUNG    FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


121 


of  a  large  post  may  decay,  and  it  will  be  injured  but  little.  In 
termediate  posts  for  wire  fence  should  never  be  smaller  than 
three  by  four  inches  at  the  lower  end,  and  one  and  a  half  by 
three  inches  at  the  upper  end.  But  if  they  were  one  inch  or 
more  larger  than  this  each  way,  they  would  last  many  years 
longer,  provided  they  have  been  cut  at  the  best  season  of  the 
year  for  cutting  timber,  and  seasoned  a  year  or  more  previous  to 
setting  them  in  the  ground. 

THE  PRINCIPAL  MANIPULATIONS  IN  MAKING  A  WIRE  FENCE. 

150.  Suppose,  for  example,   we  wish  to   make  a  wire  fence 
thirty  or  forty  rods,  more  or  less,  in  length  :  let  a  stake  be  set  at 
each  end,  and  then  set  a  dozen  or  more  stakes  in  range  with 
these,  one  or  two  feet  high ;  plow  a  furrow  where  these  stakes 
are  standing,  as  deep  as  practicable,  and  straight  as  a  line ;  by 
using  a  double  team  and  a  large  plow,  very  much  of  the  labor  of 
digging  the  holes  may  be  saved  in  a  little  time,  by  plowing  a  fur 
row  twenty  inches  deep,  or  more  (see  DIGGING  POST  HOLES,  226). 
Set  the  straining-posts,  Fig.  42,  three  and  a  half  or  four  feet 
deep;  they  should  be  made  of  good  timber,  not  less  in  size  than 
three  inches  by  six  square,  with  two-inch  auger        -p        .  ~ 
holes   in   one  of  them,   and  holes  two  inches 

square  in  the  other.  In  order  to  have  the 
holes  correspond  exactly  with  each  other,  the 
square  holes  should  be  made  before  the  post  is 
set,  and  after  they  are  set  the  auger  can  be  run 
through  the  square  holes  in  order  to  bore  those 
in  the  opposite  post.  These  posts  should  be  _ 
set  at  least  three  inches  apart. 

151.  The    strainers    are    represented    at 
which  should  be  made  of  the  most  firm  and 
tenacious    wood,    about    one    foot    in    length, 
with  four  inches  of  one  end  four  square,  and 
the  remainder  turned  round.       The  wires  are 
put  in   a   small   hole  through  these   strainers, 
and  wound  up  with  a  wooden  wrench  b,  three 


122  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

feet  long,  fitted  to  the  square  end  of  the  strainers.  When  the 
wires  are  sufficiently  tight  let  the  strainer  be  driven  into  the 
square  hole,  and  the  wrench  taken  off.  When  a  wire  is  to  be 
loosened,  drive  the  strainer  a  part  of  the  way  out,  and  let  it  un 
wind. 

152.  Set  an  anchor-post  firmly  at  the  other  end  of  the  fence. 
The  anchor-post  and  straining-posts  should  never  be  more  than 
forty  rods  apart.  In  making  a  long  line  of  fence,  straining-posts 
should  be  set  every  forty  rods,  in  which  case  they  will  answer 
for  both  anchor-posts  and  straining-posts.  They  should  also  be 
well  braced.  Let  them  be  set  perpendicularly  on  the  work  side. 
Set  one  post  about  six  rods  from  the  straining-posts,  perpendicu 
larly,  and  then  stretch  two  lines  from  this  post  to  the  straining- 
posts,  one  at  the  top,  and  one  near  the  bottom,  and  set  the  posts 
by  these  lines.  By  having  two  lines,  a  workman  will  be  able 
to  get  the  posts  more  in  a  line  than  when  only  one  line  is  used, 
with  the  plum  rule  (see  Fig.  105)  to  keep  them  perpendicular. 
When  all  the  posts  are  set  between  the  anchor-post  and  straining- 
posts,  let  the  top  wire  be  attached  and  strained  in  part,  or  nearly 
as  tight  as  it  can  be.  The  aim  of  the  workman  now  is,  to  strike 
a  line  on  the  sides  of  the  posts  near  the  tops  of  them,  which  shall 
be  parallel  with  the  surface  of  the  ground,  were  it  even  and 
smooth,  and  free  from  depressions  and  little  knolls.  If  the  sur 
face  of  the  ground  is  level,  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  doing  it ; 
but  when  the  surface  is  undulating,  it  will  require  a  little  skill  to 
do  it  in  a  workmanlike  manner.  Let  the  workman  stand  at  the 
straining-posts,  and  look  forward  along  the  posts  to  a  point  where 
the  ground  begins  to  rise  or  descend.  On  the  post  which  is 
nearest  that  point,  raise  the  wire  or  fence  line  as  high  on  that 
post  as  it  is  at  the  straining-posts,  and  support  it  with  a  nail. 
From  this  post  cast  the  eye  forward  to  the  next  point  which  de 
viates  from  a  direct  line,  and  support  the  line  or  wire  on  a  post 
there  with  a  nail.  Let  the  top  wire  be  adjusted  after  this  man 
ner  throughout  the  entire  length  of  the  fence.  Let  the  workman 
go  back,  and  where  the  wire  does  not  seem  to  be  parallel  with 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  let  it  be  adjusted  by  sticking  a  nail 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


123 


under  it  where  it  seems  to  need  raising  a  little,  and  a  nail  or  two 
above  it  where  it  seems  to  be  a  little  too  high.  Fig.  43  will  give 
the  builder  some  cor-  jPIG  43 

rect  ideas  on  the  sub 
ject,  by  which  the 
top  wire  or  line  is 
properly  adjusted, 
parallel  with  the  gen 
eral  surface  of  the  ground.  Sharp  angles  in  the  rising  and 
falling  of  the  fence,  as  shown  at  a  b  of  the  preceding  figure, 
should  be  avoided  as  much  as  practicable.  After  the 
top  wire  or  line  is  adjusted  as  correctly  as  may  be,  let 
the  workman  stand  away  from  it  three  or  four  rods,  and 
walk  the  whole  length  of  the  fence  at  that  distance  from  ? 
it ;  and  if  it  appears  all  right,  the  next  operation  will  be  -j~ 
to  mark  off  the  distances  on  the  sides  of  the  posts,  by  | 
means  of  a  board  six  or  eight  inches  wide,  with  notches  | 
made  in  it,  like  Fig.  44,  as  far  apart  as  the  holes  are  to  | 
be  bored,  or  the  wires  to  be  fastened.  The  upper  notch  P 
of  the  marking  board  should  be  placed  even  with  the  top 
wire,  and  then  there  will  be  no  liability  to  mark  some 
posts  wrong. 

153.  Let  the  holes  be  bored  with  a  good  auger  bit  instead  of 
an  auger,  as  a  man  can  bore  more  than  twice  as  fast  with  a  bit  as 
with  a  small  auger,' and  with  much  less  fatigue.  When  the  holes 
are  bored,  the  wires  may  be  put  in  and  fastened  at  one  end,  and 
drawn  up  as  tightly  by  hand  as  they  can  be,  and  then  attached 
to  the  strainers,  (see  Fig.  42).  It  is  a  good  practice  to  hitch  a 
horse  to  one  end  of  the  wires,  and  draw  them  up  as  tightly  as 
practicable  before  attaching  them  to  the  strainers.  When  it  is 
necessary  to  unite  a  wire  where  it  is  in  two  parts,  the  junction 
should  be  midway  between  two  posts,  lest  it  should  be  too  large 
to  go  through  the  hole  in  the  posts.  If  the  wires  are  to  be  fastened 
with  staples,  the  staples  should  all  be  driven  almost  in  before. 


124  THE  YOUNG  FAKMER?S  MANUAL. 


STKAINING-  THE  WIRES. 

154.  Let  the  ends  of  the  wires  be  firmly  secured  in  the  strainers, 
after  having  greased  them  with  a  little  lard  to  make  them  turn 
easily,  and  draw  them  up  as  tight  as  possible  without  breaking  the 
wrench  or  the  strainers.     About   ten  or  fifteen  rods  from  the 
straining-posts  let  a  man  step  on  the  wires,  and  spring  up  and 
down  on  them ;   and  if  they  stretch  any  let  them  be  drawn  up 
tighter.     In  warm  weather  the  wires  should  be  drawn  up  tight, 
as  they  expand  in  warm  weather  and  contract  in  cold  weather, 
about  one  inch  in  a  hundred  feet.     As  the  cold  weather  comes 
on  the  wires  may  be  loosened  a  little,  as  there  is  some  danger  of 
their  breaking  by  their  tendency  to  contract.     There  is  but  little 
danger,  however,  of  their  breaking  by  contracting. 

155.  "When  wires'  pass  through  the  posts,  some  fence-makers 
prefer  to  drive  a  pin  into  each  hole  to  keep  the  wires  from  ren 
dering   when  anything  presses  against  them ;  and  when  they  are 
fastened  by  staples,  some  prefer  to  drive  the  staples  tight  on  the 
wires.     The  most  advisable  way,  probably,  is,  to  fasten  the  wires 
at  posts  nearly  a  hundred  feet  apart,  and  then,  if  it  is  necessary 
to  loosen  or  tighten  them,  it  can  be  done  at  less  expense  than  if 
they  were  fastened  to  every  post. 

156.  The  top  board  (see  Fig.  46)  may  now  be  nailed  on,  and 
if  desirable,  the  tops  of  the  posts  may  be  sawed  off  and  a  cap  board 
put  on.     Or,  what  would  be  still  less  work,  le*t  a  scantling  about 
three  by  three  inches  square  be  firmly  nailed  on  the  tops  of  the 
posts.     It  will  add  very  much  to  the  durability  of  both  wires  and 
boards  to  have  them  well  painted  with  paint  or  coal,  tar,  or  Japan, 
especially  where  they  touch  the  posts   and  where  the  wires  pass 
through  the  posts.     By  using  a  very  small  brush,  paint  can  be 
worked  into  the  holes  on  each  side  of  the  posts. 

157.  When  posts  are  more  than  eight  or  ten  feet  apart,  stay 
wires  may  be  used  to  prevent  an  animal  from  thrusting  his  head 
between  the  wires  of  the  fence.     For  this  purpose  No.  12  wire 
is  sufficiently  large,  but   should    be  well  annealed    before  it  is 
used.      It  is  attached,  first,  to  the  top  or  bottom  wire  of  the 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


125 


fence,  by  wrapping  one  end  two  or  three  times  around  it,  and 
then  by  passing  once  around  each  of  the  other  wires,  being  careful 
to  keep  them  at  their  proper  distance  apart. 

158.  The  final  operation  now  will  be,  to  cast  up  a  ridge  of 
earth  along  the  fence,  twenty  or  more  inches  high,  and  seed  it 
with  grass  seed.     A  wire  fence  should  seldom  be  made  without 
such  a  ridge. 

159.  Another  mode  of  building  wire  fence,  where  posts  of  wood 
are  scarce,  and  iron  and  stone  abundant,  is,  to  use  iron  posts  and 
stone  sills  for  the  intermediate  posts.     Figure  45  represents  an 
iron  post,  which  is  made  of  wrought  iron,  about  three-eighths  of  an 


FIG.  45. 


inch  thick  at  the  lower  end,  and  three-six 
teenths  thick  at  top,  and  three-quarters  wide 
at  top,  and  an  inch  and  a  half  wide  at  bottom, 
with  shoulder  on  each  side  of  the  tenon,  which 
is  passed  through  the  sill  and  fastened  with  a 
key,  or  nut  and  screw.  A  shoulder  one-fourth 
of  an  inch  deep  on  each  side  is  sufficient, 
and  the  tenon  may  be  tapered  from  the  shoul 
der  to  the  lower  end  of  it,  when  a  nut  is  used 
to  fasten  the  posts ;  but  an  iron  key  is  the 
best  and  cheapest,  in  the  end  of  tenon,  and 
is,  usually,  more  convenient.  The. best  way 
to  obtain  such  posts  would  be,  to  give  the 
dimensions  of  them  to  the  proprietor  of  some 
manufactory  of  iron,  and  have  them  rolled  out, 
and  holes  punched  for  wires  and  keys,  where  machinery  for  such 
purposes  is  used,  and  then  the  expense  of  them  would  be  but 
one  cent  or  so  on  a  pound  more  than  for  ordinary  bars  of  iron. 
The  sills  may  be  made  of  almost  any  kind  of  stone.  A  sill  six 
inches  wide  and  four  thick,  and  three  feet  in  length,  is  a  good 
size.  Stone  for  flagging,  which  are  not  more  than  two  inches 
thick,  may  be  used  for  that  purpose,  providing  they  are  not  less 
than  three  feet  long  and  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  wide.  Bowl 
ders  and  blocks  of  square  stone,  weighing  several  hundred  pounds 
each,  may  be  used  by  drilling  holes  in  them  three  or  four  inches 


IKON  POSTS  FOB 
WIEE  FENCE. 


126  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

deep,  and  by  placing  the  iron  tenon  in  the  hole,  and  by  pouring 
in  melted  lead  to  make  it  solid.  Such  posts  may  also  be  fastened 
into  blocks  of  wood,  or  into  plugs  of  wood  driven  into  the  ground 
as  deep  as  for  fence  posts. 

160.  In  making  a  wire  fence  with  iron  posts  inserted  in  sills 
of  stone,  it  is  best  to  form  a  ridge  of  earth  where  the  fence  is  to 
stand,  about  twenty  inches  high,  and  three  feet  wide  on  the  top, 
and  seed  it  with  grass  seed,  allowing  it  to  settle  one  season;  and 
then  place  the  sills  in  which  the  iron  posts  have  been  set,  on  the 
surface  of  the  ridge,  in  a  line  with  each  other,  as  in  setting  posts 
of  wood.  Bowlders,  into  which  posts  have  been  set,  may  be 
sunk  a  few  inches  into  the  ridge  in  order  to  make  the  holes  in 
the  posts  stand  in  range  with  each  other.  Posts  set  in  this 
manner  may  seem  to  some  people  like  a  very  superficial  fabric, 
possessing  little  permanency,  but  after  such  posts  have  been 
placed  a  few  weeks,  let  a  man  move  them,  if  he  can,  by  taking 
hold  of  the  iron  posts.  Such  posts  may  be  placed  thirty  feet  apart 
on  the  ridge,  and  two  or  three  stay  wires  put  on  the  main  wires, 
between  the  posts.  In  order  to  prevent  swine  from  lifting  the 
bottom  wire,  the  stay  wires  may  be  first  fastened  to  the  stakes 
driven  into  the  ridge,  and  then  passed  around  the  other  wires  to 
the  top  wire.  After  the  wires  have  been  put  in  and  strained,  the 
holes  may  be  plugged  with  hard  wood  to  keep  them  from  rendering 
back  and  forth  when  the  wires  are  pressed  sideways.  A  fence 
made  after  this  plan  will  remain  permanent,  without  doubt,  as 
long  as  one  man  usually  wants  a  fence.  If  the  posts  should  ever 
become  a  little  inclined,  they  may  be  readily  set  erect  by  raising 
one  end  of  the  sills. 


THE    NUMBER    OF    WIRES 

161.  In  a  fence  will  always  depend  upon  the  size  of  the  animals 
to  be  turned  by  the  fence.  No  sheep,  cattle,  or  swine,  of  a  hun 
dred  pounds  weight,  will  be  able  to  pass  between  the  wires  of  a 
fence  like  Fig.  46,  when  the  wires  are  well  strained.  In  merely 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


127 


FIG.  46. 


SECTION   OP    WIRE    FENCE. 


fencing  against  horned  cat 
tle  and  horses,  there  is  no 
necessity  of  having  any  of 
the  wires  less  than  eight  or 
ten  inches  apart,  and  they 
should  never  be  more  than 
ten  inches  apart.  The  bot 
tom  wires,  which  are  de-  , 
signed  to  turn  sheep  and: 
swine,  may  be  no  larger! 
than  number  twelve  or' 
thirteen,  as  no  sheep  nor 
swine  will  be  able  to  break  a  wire  of  that  size.  The  strongest  wires 
should  always  be  placed  about  as  high  as  the  shoulders  of  horned 
cattle  and  horses. 

162.  There  are  several  modes  of  straining  the  wires  of  a  fence 
besides  the  one  noticed  in  paragraph  154,  but  for  convenience, 
cheapness,  efficiency  and  practicability,  they  are  inferior  to  this. 
Straining  wires  by  having  a  small  iron  screw  and  swivel  in  each 
wire  is  a  good  way,  but  is  usually  too  expensive.      There  are 
modes  of  having  all  the  wires  pass  through  holes  in  an  upright 
roller,  and  then  with  an  iron  lever  the  roller  is  turned  round,  and 
the  wires  are  strained  from  the  ends  of  the  fence  towards  the  mid 
dle  of  the  fence,  by  being  wound  up  on  the  roller  from  each  way. 
But  this  is  a  very  inefficient  manner  of  straining  wires,  and  he 
who  adopts  it  will  be  glad  to  abandon  it  before  he  has  been  able 
to  bring  all  the  wires  to  a  uniform  tension.     There  are  several 
other  very  neat  modes  of  fastening  wires  to  the  posts,  but  some 
are  too  expensive,  and  others  are  not  worthy  of  adopting. 

THE    LOWELL   WIRE    FENCING. 

163.  Fig.  47  represents  a  style  of  wire  fencing  which  cannot 
fail,  ultimately,  to  supersede  every  other  style  of  wire  fencing. 
Wire  of  every  size  is  woven  into  cloth,  or  network,  by  machin 
ery,  with  the  meshes  of  various  sizes.     The  meshes  are  usually 

about  eight  inches  wide.     After  the  wires  are  woven,  the  whole 
6 


128  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

of  it  is  well  coated  with  Japan,  which  is  made  from  asphaltum, 
which  prevents  its  rusting.  About  20  or  25  rods  in  length  of  it 
are  then  rolled  up  in  bales,  as  shown  by  the  figure,  which  weigh 
from  200  to  300  Ibs. ;  when  it  can  be  transported  to  any  locality, 
and  put  up  by  almost  any  farmer.  The  very  efficient  manner  in 

FIG.  47. 


A    BALE    OF    LOWELL    WIRE     FENCING. 


which  the  meshes  are  formed  by  the  weaving  of  the  wires,  is  rep 
resented  by  Fig.  48.  It  will  require  the  application  of  a  force 
almost  equal  to  the  strength  of  the  wires  to  separate  the  meshes, 
by  drawing  on  two  of  them  which  are  twisted  together. 

164.  The  COST  of  such  fencing  depends  on  the  width  of  the 
cloth  and  the  size  of  the  wire,  varying  from  75c.  to  $2.50.  per 
lineal  rod.      The  cut  represents  a  strip  of  network  thirty  inches 
wide,  with  eight-inch  meshes,  made  of  Nos.  10  and  12  wire,  weigh 
ing  five  and  three-quarter  Ibs.  per  rod,  and  is  sold  for  75c.  per 
rod.     "W.  J.  Johnson,   Boston,  Mass.,  manufacturer,  will  send  an 
illustrated    catalogue  of  the   various  kinds  and  sizes  which  he 
manufactures. 

1 65.  How  to  make  the  fence. — Set  the  posts  from  ten  to  twenty 
feet  apart,  according  to  the  size  of  the  wire  and  weight  of  cloth 
per  lineal  rod.     If  the  cloth  is  narrow,  cast  up  a  ridge  of  earth 
along  the?  posts.     Set  the  straining-posts,  which  are  represented 
at  Fig.  42,  and  attach  wires  to  the  cloth,  and  wind  them  up  with 
the  strainers.     When  there  are  a  number  of  straight  strands  of 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  129 

wire  in  the  cloth,  they  may  be  wound  on  the  strainers.     Fasten 
the  cloth  to  the  posts  with  small  staples  driven  over  the  wires. 

166.  In  putting  up  such  fence  where  the  surface  of  the  ground  is 
undulating,  the  young  farmer  will  meet  with  a  difficulty  which 
will  puzzle  many  experienced  mechanics  to  obviate.  The  wider 
the  cloth  is,  the  greater  will  be  the  difficulty.  "When  a  portion 

Fia.  48. 


MANNER   OF   WEAVING  THE   WIRES. 


of  such  cloth  is  put  up  on  a  straight  course,  and  then  the  ground 
rises  abruptly,  the  bottom  of  the  cloth  will  be  tight,  and  the  top, 
or  upper  edge,  will  be  very  loose.  In  such  cases  a  strip  of  cloth 
may  be  put  up  in  a  horizontal  position,  or  at  a  given  angle,  and 
another  strip  put  up  at  another  angle,  with  a  pair  of  straining- 
posts  between  them,  so  as  to  tighten  the  strips  on  both  sides  of 
the  straining-posts  by  one  set  of  strainers.  In  any  instance  when 
either  the  lower  or  upper  side  of  the  cloth  cannot  be  made  tight, 
in  consequence  of  the  inequalities  of  the  ground,  cut  one  side  of 
the  cloth  and  take  out  a  gore,  or  set  straining  posts,  as  already 
directed. 

SECTION    4. PICKET    FENCE. 

'•The  good  eftd  picket  fences  there  surround 
The  garden,  vineyard,  and  the  furrowed  ground, 
To  turn  marauders,  and  nocturnal  prigs, 
And  roaming  curs,  and  pesty,  rooting  pigs, 
And  chanticleer,  with  majesty  and  pride, 
Strutting  along,  with  partfyby  his  sido."— EDWARDS. 


130  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

167.  There  is  probably  a  larger  number  of  different  styles  of 
picket  fence  than  of  any  other  variety  of  fence,  and  the  most  fas 
tidious  can  always  find  some  style,  among  so  great  a  variety, 
that  will  harmonize  with  his  taste  and  fancy.     There  is  greater 
adaptedness  in  picket  fences  to  many  purposes  than  in  any  other 
kind  of  fence ;  and  in  some  instances  picket  fence  will  subserve 
a  purpose  which  could  not,   practically,   be  accomplished  with 
any  other  kind  of  fence.     As  picket  fences  may  be  built  of  so 
many  different  styles,  he  who  aims  to  erect  a  picket  fence  which 
shall  be  in  good  taste  and  harmony  with  his  grounds  and  build 
ings,  if  he  knows  exactly  what  he  most  desires,  is  not  compelled 
to  search  a  great  length  of  time  to  find  a  style  of  fence  which 
will  come  fully  up  to  his  ideas  of  what  a  picket  fence  should  be. 
There  is  an  appearance  in  picket  fence  which  almost  always  affects 
surrounding  objects  more  or  less ;   and  not  unfrequently  a  picket 
fence  of  correct  style,  to  harmonize  with  surrounding  objects,  im 
parts  a  beauty  to  the  scenery  which  a  board  fence  of  the  neatest 
style,  or   a   stone   fence,  or   hedge   fence,  would   never   impart. 
Picket  fences  have  all  the  excellencies  which  can  possibly  be  com 
bined  in  any  style  of  fence  ;  they  may  be  strong  or  fragile,  costly 
or  cheap,  neat  and  tasty,  or  awkward  and  homely,  or  ornamental, 
or  plain,  to  any  desirable  degree.     No  style  of  fence,  in  my  own 
estimation,  adds  more  to  the  beauty  of  a  spacious  dooryard,  or 
lawn,  than  a  tasty  picket  fence.     Although  a  board  fence   may 
be  made  as  ornamental  and  tasty  as  such  materials  will  admit  of, 
still  a  picket  fence  seems  never  to  fail  to  satisfy  the  caprice  of  the 
most  fanciful. 

168.  There  is  also  an  efficiency  in  many  kinds  of  picket  fence 
which  no  other  kind  of  fence  possesses.     A  picket  fence  will  not 
only  stop  fowls  from  roaming  on  forbidden  ground,  but  will  often 
be  the  means  of  keeping  the  productions  of  the  fruit-yard  and  gar 
den  in  safety  from  pilfering  interlopers,  who  would  climb  over  a 
board  fence  and  carry  off,  without  difficulty,  the  delicious  booty. 
A  picket  fence  is  usually  a  difficult,  dangerous  fence  to   climb 
over ;  and  for  this  reason,  when  orchards  and  fruit-yards  and  gar 
dens  have  been  encircled  with  a  substantial  picket  fence,  the  pro- 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  181 

prietors  have  feasted  on  their  own  fruit  and  vegetables,  which 
they  would  never  have  tasted  had  their  grounds  been  enclosed  by 
any  other  kind  of  fence.  When  a  fruit-pilferer  is  passing  a  fruit- 
yard  which  is  enclosed  with  a  board  fence  that  he  can  hop  over  at 
any  place,  he  is  sure  to  glut  his  swinish  palate  with  anything 
within  his  sight;  whereas,  had  there  been  a  picket  fence  he  would 
have  passed  on,  and  found  his  booty  somewhere  else.  Horses, 
horned  cattle,  and  almost  every  other  kind  of  animals,  fowls  and 
other  bipeds,  which  belong  to  a  higher  order  of  creatures,  not  ex- 
cepted,  which  need  to  be  fenced  against,  are  usually  more  shy  of 
a  picket  fence  than  of  any  other  style  of  fence.  Dogs  will  many 
times  run  many  rods  around  a  picket  fence  rather  than  junljp  over 
it,  when,  if  a  board  fence  of  the  same  height  were  there,  they 
would  have  bounded  over  it  without  any  hesitancy.  This  is  par 
ticularly  the  case  if  the  tops  of  the  pickets  are  pointed.  Fowls, 
in  flying  over  a  picket  fence,  generally  aim  to  perch  on  the  top 
of  the  pickets,  as  they  are  accustomed  to  do  on  other  fences ;  but, 
as  pointed  pickets  are  not  very  convenient  for  them  to  stand  upon, 
they  soon  learn  that  it  is  best  to  fly  over  without  touching  it, 
which  they  seldom  do,  or  keep  on  their  own  side  of  it.  Filching 
marauders,  in  quest  of  good  fruit,  fear  the  points  of  pickets,  lest 
they,  by  an  inadvertant  hold  or  step,  should  meet  with 'their  mer 
ited  deserts. 

1 69.  In  point  of  economy  in  dollars  and  cents,  a  picket  fence 
may  cost  more  than  a  board  fence,  or  it  may  not  cost  as  much. 
The  height  of  each  fence  being  the  same,  there  will  be  little,  if 
any,  difference  in  the  cost  of  the  rough  materials ;  but  the  labor 
of  building  according  to  a  given  style  will  increase  or  diminish 
that  cost,  according  to  the  amount  of  labor  bestowed  upon  it. 
The  style  of  casing  and  capping  the  posts,  or  not  casing  them ; 
the  style  of  rails  and  bottom  boards ;  and  the  style  of  the  tops  of 
the  pickets,  all  affect  the  expense  of  a  fence,  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  labor  required  in  dressing  out  and  preparing  the  mate 
rials.  There  is  often  an  unnecessary  amount  of  labor  expended 
in  making  the  tops  of  pickets  very  ornamental,  by  cutting  them 
of  different  forms,  which  only  increases  the  expense,  without 


132  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

adding  at  all  to  its  beauty  or  efficiency.  The  plainer  the  work  is, 
in  making  a  picket  fence,  and  the  less  cut  work  in  the  shape  of 
gains  and  moldings  there  is  about  it,  the  neater  it  appears. 

170.  The  width  of  pickets,  and  the  width  of  spaces  between  them, 
is  a  consideration  which  affects  the  symmetry  and  expense  of  a 
fence  far  more  than  most  people  are  wont  to  suppose.     Pickets 
are  often  made  one-third  or  two-thirds  wider  than  is  necessary  for 
strength,  to  say  nothing  for  or  against   their  beauty ;  and  the 
spaces  between  them  are  too  frequently  twice  or  thrice  as  narrow 
as  they  might  be,  without  detracting  at  all  from  the  efficiency  of 
the  fence,  or  from  its  real  beauty.     Pickets  are  often  four  inches 
wide,  fnd  the  space  between  them  but  two  inches ;  in  which  case 
a  width  of  pickets  eight  inches  wide  is  required  for  every  foot 
in  length  of  a  fence.     But  if  the  pickets  were  two  inches  wide, 
which  is  sufficiently  wide  for  ordinary  fences,  with  two-inch  spaces, 
there  will  be  a  saving  of  just  one  quarter  of  the  lumber  for  the 
pickets  required  for  a  rod  in  length.     But  when  pickets  are  a 
plump  inch  thick,  and  not  more  than  four  feet  long,  a  fence  will 
look  quite  as  well   when  the  pickets  are  an  inch  and  a  half 
wide,  with  spaces  two  and  a  half  or  three  inches  in  width.     It  is 
a  thing  of  rare  occurrence,  that  pickets  of  the  size  last  mentioned 
are  ever  broken  by  animals  thrusting  against  them,  or  by  attempt 
ing  to  pass  them  in  any  way.     "When  pickets  are  an  inch  and  a  half 
wide,  and  the  spaces  between  them  two  and  a  half  wide,  only  a 
width  of  four  and  a  half  inches  of  pickets  is  required  for  a  foot  in 
length  of  fence.     Spaces  two  and  a  half  inches  wide  are  narrow 
enough  to  stop  any  kind  of  fowls,  or  pigs  and  lambs. 

171.  Fig.  49  represents  a  neat,   cheap,  durable   and  substan 
tial  lawn  fence,  and  may  be  three  and  a  half  to  four  and  a  half 
feet  high,  to  suit  the  fancy.     The  top  of  the  pickets  should  extend 
not  less  than  eight  inches  above  the  top  rail ;  and  if  the  fence  is 
four  feet  or  more  in  height,  they  should  extend  not  less  than  ten 
inches  above  the  rail.     The  rails  should  be  about  three  inches 
square,  in  which  case  the  posts  may  be  twelve  feet  apart,  and 
should  be  fitted  to  the  posts  as  shown  in  the  figure,  so  that  the 
pickets  may  be  nailed  to  a  corner  of  the  rails  instead  of  the  side. 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


133 


Rails  are  much  stronger,  both  laterally  and  vertically,  when  placed 
in  this  position,  than  when  they  are  placed  with  one  side  up.  And 
besides  this,  the  surface  of  conjunction  between  the  pickets  and 
rails  is  so  small,  that  there  is  little  or  no  liability  to  decay,  as  is 
the  case  when  pickets  are  nailed  to  the  flat  side  of  rails.  Every 

FIG.  49. 


m= 


LJ 


-..-' 


A   LAWN  PICKET  FENCE. 


one  who  has  had  any  experience  in  picket  fence,  knows  that  when 
pickets  are  nailed  to  the  flat  side  of  rails,  water  will  often  get 
between  them  and  cause  them  to  decay  in  that  place  in  a  few 
years.  The  bottom  rail  may  be  halved  and  let  into  gains  in  the 
posts,  or  attached  by  mortises  and  tenons  ;  and  the  strongest  mode 
of  putting  up  the  top  rail  (unless  by  mortises  and  tenons)  is,  in 
sawing  off  the  tops  of  the  posts,  to  saw  from  each  side  of  the 
posts,  with  cut  slanting  downwards,  so  that  the  top  rail  will  fit 
the  cut  neatly,  as  shown  at  a  in  the  figure.  The  top  rails  may  then 
be  nailed,  as  shown  at  the  top  of  the  posts.  "Where  the  rails  and 
posts  touch  each  other,  they  should  be  painted  to  preserve  them 
from  decay. 

172.  The  pickets  may  be  sawed  out  of  inch  boards  with  a 
power  circular  saw,  as  it  is  difficult  to  saw  pickets  of  so  small  a 
size  from  logs  at  the  saw-mill.  After  they  are  dressed  out,  the 
tops  may  be  sawed  off  in  a  mitre-box  with  a  hand  saw,  or  with 
a  small  circular  saw.  Tn  nailing  them  on  the  rails,  let  a  chalk* 
line  be  stretched  as  high  above  the  rails  as  the  tops  of  the  pickets 


134  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

are  to  extend,  supporting  it  in  the  middle,  if  it  sags  a  little,  with 
a  picket  slightly  tacked  to  the  rails.  Dress  out  a  space-board  as 
wide  as  the  spaces,  and  be  particular  to  have  both  ends  of  an  ex 
act  width.  Drive  a  long  nail  in  one  side  of  it,  near  the  top,  so 
that  it  can  be  hung  on  the  top  rail ;  now  nail  on  the  first  picket, 
and  plumb  the  edge  on  one  side.  Hang  on  the  space-board,  and 
put  up  another  picket  to  the  side  of  the  space-board,  with  the  top 
barely  to  the  line,  and  hold  it  with  one  knee  while  nailing  it. 
After  two  or  three  pickets  more  have  been  put  up,  apply  the 
plumb-rule  and  see  if  the  pickets  are  perpendicular.  After  the 
pickets  are  all  nailed  on,  the  bottom  board,  the  top  edge  of  which 
is  planed  bevelling,  as  shown  in  the  figure,  may  be  nailed  on  the 
outside  of  the  pickets.  The  lower  ends  of  the  pickets  need  not 
be  sawed  off  even,  as  they  are  not  in  sight;  and  the  bottom 
board  may  be  nailed  to  the  lower  rail,  subserving  the  additional 
purpose  of  a  batten  or  ribbon ;  or  it  may  be  two  or  three  inches 
below  the  rail.  A  ribbon  about  one  inch  by  an  inch  and  one-fourth 
square  may  be  nailed  on  the  pickets  into  the  upper  rail.  But  if 
each  picket  is  nailed  with  two  sixpenny  nails  to  each  rail — four 
nails  in  a  picket — if  the  rails  are  of  hard  wood,  a  ribbon  will  be  of 
little  utility.  A  half  round  ribbon  would  look  better  than  a 
square  one.  Near  the  middle  of  the  bottom  boards  a  few  pickets 
may  extend  to  the  bottom  of  the  board  on  the  inside,  and  be 
nailed  to  it  to  strengthen  it.  The  bottom  board  may  be  from 
eight  to  ten  inches  wide ;  or  there  may  be  two  narrow  boards 
four  and  a  half  or  five  inches  wide,  with  a  three  or  four-inch  space 
between  them,  which  is  in  quite  as  good  keeping  with  a  picket 
fence  as  one  wide  board.  If  it  is  desirable,  the  posts  of  such  fence 
may  be  cased.  But  if  the  gate-posts  and  posts  at  the  corners  of 
the  yard  be  cased,  like  those  at  Fig.  32,  the  fence  will  probably 
suit  the  majority  of  people  quite  as  well  as  if  every  post  were 
cased. 

SELF-SUSTAINING    PICKET    FENCE. 

173.  Fig  50  represents  a  style  of  fence  but  little  different  from 
the  one  shown  at  Fig.  49.     The  pickets,  bottom  boards,  rails  and 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


135 


ribbons,  are  all  alike ;  but  instead  of  posts,  standards  are  used, 
one  of  which  is  shown  at  Fig  51.  The  sills  a  are  made  of  scant 
ling,  not  less  than  three  by  four  inches  square,  and  thirty  inches 
or  more  long ;  and  the  standards,  5,  after  the  mortises  have  been 

FIG.  50. 


mt 


SELF-SUSTAINING   PICKET   FENCE. 

made  for  the  rails  and  bottom  boards,  are  firmly  united  by  mor 
tise  and  tenon  to  the  sills.  Braces  c  c  are  then  nailed  on,  or 
wires  twisted  together,  as  at  Fig.  36.  The  standards  may  be  of 
one  and  a  half  or  two-inch  plank,  and  may  extend  above  tops 
of  pickets,  for  holding  one  or  two  wires  to  prevent  fowls  from 
flying  over  it ;  or  they  may  extend  no  higher  JTIG<  51, 

than  the  tops  of  the  pickets.  If  preferred, 
the  standards  may  be  in  two  parts,  like  Fig. 
35,  or  37.  The  ends  of  the  rails  are  halved 
together  at  the  standards.  The  longer  the 
rails  and  bottom  boards  are,  the  less  will  be 
the  expense  for  the  labor  of  building,  as  they 
may  be  run  through  one  or  two  standards 
without  having  a  joint  at  each  one.  When 
they  are  made  in  two  parts,  like  Fig.  35, 

-,(.,>!•  ,T  vi       1       1^  STANDARD   FOR   SELF  BUS- 

instead   Of   fastening    the    tops  With   bolts    Or     TAININU  PICKET  FENCE. 

bands,  a  wooden  yoke,  made  of  two-inch  plank,  with  a  long 
mortise  in  it,  is  fitted  to  the  standards,  about  half  way  from  the 
tops  of  pickets  to  tops  of  standards.  The  ends  and  sides  of  the 
yokes  are  rounded  a  little,  and  give  a  very  tasty  appearance  to 
the  fence.  The  sills  may  be  staked  to  the  ground,  or  large  stones 
6* 


136 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S    MANUAL. 


laid  on  them,  to  keep  them  from  being  moved ;  or  it  will  stand 
very  firmly  itself.  But  if  fence  posts  of  cedar,  or  yellow  locust, 
or  of  some  other  durable  timber,  can  be  obtained  for  twelve  or 
fifteen  cents  apiece,  it  will  be  the  most  economical,  in  the  end,  to 
build  a  fence  like  Fig.  49,  with  posts,  instead  of  a  self-sustaining 
fence,  like  Fig.  50,  unless  a  portable  fence  is  desired. 

SELF-SUSTAINING    PORTABLE    ZIGZAG    PATENT    PICKET    FENCE,  OR 

HURDLES. 

174.  Fig.  52  shows  a  style  of  picket  fence  which  was  secured  by 
letters  patent  in  1858,  and  which  appears  to  take  well  where  it  is 
introduced.  The  rails  are  about  twelve  feet  long  and  two  inches 

FIG.  52. 

A    A 


A  A 


MA* 


m 


$ 


r 


SELF-SUSTAINING  PORTABLE   PICKET   PENCE,   OB   HPBDLES. 


square,  of  hard  timber,  and  the  pickets  are  two  inches  wide, 
pointed  or  not,  with  spaces  to  suit  the  builders.  Each  picket  is 
nailed  on  with  four  nails,  and  the  ends  of  rails  are  fastened  to 
gether  by  pins  of  wood  or  iron,  which  are  driven  through  two  of 
them.  The  panels  are  all  made  in  the  shop,  and  care  is  taken  to 
have  the  pickets  nailed  on  at  a  right  angle  with  the  rails.  The 
holes  at  the  ends  of  the  rails  are  bored  straight  through,  in  order 
to  correspond  with  each  other.  If  the  pins  are  of  iron,  a  rod 
three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter  is  large  enough,  or  a  three- 
quarter  wooden  pin.  The  panels  are  set  up  in  a  zigzag  manner, 
with  a  worm  of  three  or  four  feet,  with  flat  stones  under  the  cor 
ners  ;  and  if  it  does  not  warp  and  twist,  and  settle  off  sideways  in  a 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


137 


few  years,  or  if  the  wind  does  not  turn  it  topsy-turvy,  and  inside 
outwards,  it  will  stand  firmly  until  it  rots  down  where  it  was  set 
up.  In  the  event  of  a  hurricane,  stakes  might  be  driven  in  the 
ground  at  each  corner,  and  the  fence  wired  to  them.  It  is  a  very 
good  design  for  hurdles.  When  such  a  fence  is  made  up  and 
down  hills,  there  should  be  a  brace  nailed  from  one  rail  to  the 
other,  to  keep  the  panels  in  their  proper  shape. 

POULTEY  YARD  FENCE. 

175.  Fig.  53  represents  a  very  good  style  of  picket  fence  for  in 
closing  the  kitchen  garden  or  poultry  yard.  It  may  be  built  of 
any  desirable  height.  It  is  best,  usually,  to  have  a  bottom  board, 

FIG.  3. 


POULTRY  TAED  FEIfCE. 


nine  or  ten  inches  wide,  close  to  the  ground,  or  a  little  ridge  of 
earth  may  be  thrown  up  under  it,  to  keep  chickens  and  ducklings, 
and  such  like,  within  the  inclosure,  and  to  exclude  skunks  and 
other  "varmints"  from  the  yard  during  the  night.  There  is  no 
necessity  whatever,  of  building  such  a  fence  more  than  six  feet 
high.  Our  domestic  fowls  do  not  need  wings  any  more  than  they 
need  fins ;  and  if  they  are  disposed  to  fly  over  the  top  of  such  a 
fence,  let  two  or  three  inches  of  the  end  of  one  wing  be  clipped 


138  THE  YOUNG   FAEMER'S  MANUAL. 

off,  and  they  will  soon  make  no  effort  to  fly.  The  pickets  for 
such  a  fence  should  be  sawed  tapering,  as  shown  in  the  cut, 
about  two  and  a  half  inches  wide  at  the  lower  end,  and  not  more 
than  half  an  inch  wide  at  the  upper  end  ;  the  space  board  should 
be  (see  172)  about  two  inches  wide  at  the  lower  end,  as  a  space 
of  two  inches  is  narrow  enough,  and  the  upper  end  must  be 
enough  wider  than  the  lower  end  to  correspond  with  the  taper  of 
the  pickets.  The  space  board  need  not  be  as  long  as  the  pickets. 
The  object  of  sawing  them  tapering  is,  to  save  lumber,  as  the 
spaces  can  be  much  wider  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom  of  the 
pickets.  It  is  always  best,  when  it  is  not  inconvenient,  to  nail 
on  the  pickets  on  the  inside  of  the  yard,  so  that  fowls  cannot  fly 
on  the  top  rail,  and  then  fly  over,  or  get  through  between  the 
pickets. 

THE    FIELD,  WIRE    AND    PICKET    FENCE 

176.  Is  usually  made  of  pickets  turned  round  and  pointed. 
although  square  ones  are  frequently  used  instead  of  round  ones  ; 
but  they  are  not  as  neat,  especially  if  the  fence  is  to  be  painted, 
because  the  loops  of  wire,  in  straining,  cut  into  the  corners  of  the 
pickets  much  deeper  than  they  do  in  round  pickets.  The  pickets 
are  cut  out  in  a  lathe  in  the  same  manner  that  broom  handles 
and  rakestales  are  cut  out,  and  the  ends  are  thrust  into  an  instru 
ment  called  a  "pointer,"  holding  cutters,  which  will  sharpen  the 
end  of  a  picket  in  a  second  or  two.  They  are  from  four  to  five 
feet  long,  and  an  inch  or  more  in  diameter.  One  inch  in  diameter 
is  rather  too  small  for  a  fence  where  cattle  and  horses  run.  In 
stead  of  wooden  rails  for  holding  the  pickets,  two  wires  are  used, 
bent  into  loops,  like  Fig.  54,  which  represents  a  wire  about  the 
size  of  No.  10  or  11,  ready  for  the  pickets.  It  is  very  important 

FIG.  54. 


MANNER   OP   BENDING  THE    WIRE  RAILS  FOR   A   PICKET   FENCE. 

that  the  loops  be  bent  with  as  much  uniformity  as  possible  ;  be 
cause,  if  both  the  upper  and  lower  wires  are  not  bent  into  loops 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL.  139 

as  nearly  alike  as  they  can  be  conveniently,  the  pickets  will  not 
all  stand  in  a  perpendicular  position.  I  have  noticed  fences  made 
in  this  manner,  where  the  pickets  in  some  parts  of  the  fenco 
would  lean  more  than  the  width  of  one  space. 

177.  To  aid  the  workman  in  making  the  loops,  an  instrument 
like  Fig.  55  is  necessary,  which  is  made  of  cast-iron,  and  screwed 
fast  to  a  work-bench,  or  held  in  a  vise.     The  projections  a  a 
should  be  as  large  in  diameter  as  the  pickets,  and       FIG.  55. 
just  as  far  apart  as  it  is  desirable  to  have  the  pick-      a  a 
ets  when  they  are  worked  into  the   fence.      In 

forming  the  loops,  have  the  wire  in  a  close  coil, 
and  after  winding  it  around  one  of  the  iron  pins 

INSTRUMENT  FOR 

a  a,  carry  it  to  the  other  pm,  winding  the  wire  BENDING  THE  WIRE. 
around  that  also.  Now  slip  both  loops  off  the  tops  of  pins  a  a, 
and  put  the  loop  which  was  made  last  on  the  first  pin.  Again, 
slip  off  the  loops  and  carry  them  back,  making  one  loop  every 
time  they  are  slipped  off.  Great  care  should  be  exercised  to 
carry  the  coil,  in  bending  every  loop,  just  so  far  forward,  and  to 
have  the  last  loop  put  on  the  pin  with  the  straight  part  of  the 
wire  between  the  loops  at  just  such  an  angle  with  the  pins;  other 
wise  there  will  be  a  variation  in  the  spaces,  so  that  the  pickets 
will  lean  a  little  in  some  places,  and  then  will  be  perpendicular  in 
some  places,  and  then  they  will  lean  a  little  in  other  places  in  an 
opposite  direction.  An  accurate  workman  will  bend  the  loops 
with  two  pins ;  but  the  beginner  had  better  have  three  pins  instead 
of  two,  and  then  there  will  be  no  liability  to  make  variations  in 
the  spaces.  When  three  pins  are  used,  all  three  of  the  loops 
must  be  slipped  off  the  ends  of  them  every  time  a  loop  is  made. 
The  wire  should  not  be  wound  around  as  a  string  would  be,  but 
the  whole  coil  must  be  carried  around  the  pin.  If  this  is  not  done, 
the  wire  will  be  twisted  once  around  at  every  loop,  which  weak 
ens  its  strength. 

178.  The  posts  for  such  a  fence  may  be  set  as  far  apart  as 
thought  best,  say  from  eight  to  twelve  feet,  with  one  side  of  them 
on  a  line  with  each  other ;  and  then  the  wires  may  be  laid  on  the 
ground,  and  the  pickets  put  in  the  loops,  with  the  tops  all  in  line. 


140  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

When  the  ground  is  level,  after  the  pickets  have  all  been  put  in 
the  loops,  they  may  all  be  set  up,  and  the  wires  strained  (see  Fig. 
42)  and  fastened  to  each  post,  with  staples  driven  over  the  wires 
into  each  post.  Where  the  ground  is  undulating,  it  is  a  most  dif 
ficult  job  to  adjust  the  wires  in  such  a  manner  that  the  pickets, 
up  and  down  slopes,  will  all  stand  in  a  perpendicular  position. 
Suppose,  for  instance,  a  fence  is  to  be  made  fifteen  or  twenty  rods 
on  a  level,  and  then  to  rise  up  a  slope  from  ten  to  twenty  rods. 
Let  the  wires  be  fastened  to  the  post  at  the  bottom  of  the  slope 
of  ground,  and  have  a  set  of  straining-posis  at  the  top  of  the 
slope,  and  another  set  at  the  end  of  that  part  of  the  fence  on  level 
ground ;  and  let  the  wires  be  strained  from  both  ways.  If  either 
of  the  wires  should  seem  to  be  looser  than  the  other,  and  straining 
it  more  would  incline  the  pickets  from  a  perpendicular  position, 
it  would  be  best  for  a  man  to  step  on  the  wire  which  is  the  tightest, 
in  several  places,  in  order  to  bury  the  wires  deeper  in  the  wood ; 
and  then  they  can  both  be  strained  up  to  the  desired  tension. 

179.  The  cost  of  such  a  fence  will  be  easily  estimated,  and  the 
fence  very  quickly  made.     The  pickets,  in  this  region,  can  be 
obtained,  turned  and  pointed,  for  one  dollar  per  hundred,  four 
feet  long.      If   they  are    one  inch  and    a  quarter  in  diameter, 
which  is  as  small  as  they  ever  ought  to  be,  with  four-inch  spaces, 
it  will  require  about  thirty -seven  pickets  for  one  rod  of  fence. 
The  cost  of  the  wire  will  depend  on  its  size ;  and  the  cost  of  posts 
will  depend  on  the  locality,  and  the  kind  of  posts  used.     Posts 
similar  to  Fig.  45  may  be  used  for  this  style  of  fence,  by  passing 
a  wire  around  the  wire  which  holds  the  pickets,  and  through  the 
holes  in  the  post,  and  twisting  jt  up  tight.     Instead  of  having  the 
pickets  four  or  more  feet  long,  a  ridge  of  earth  two  feet  or  so 
high  may  be  cast  up,  and  the  pickets  be  made  correspondingly 
shorter,  which  will  lessen  the  cash  cost,  and  at  the  same  time  in 
crease  the  efficiency  of  the  fence  by  means  of  the  ridge  of  earth. 
When  such  a  fence  is  put  up  in  a  workmanlike  manner,  and  well 
painted,  it  harmonizes  with  the  taste  of  many  individuals  better 
than  almost  any  other  style  of  fence. 

180.  Fig.  56  represents  one  of  the  most  expensive  kinds  of 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


141 


ORNAMENTAL  BOUND   PICKET    FENCE. 


picket  fence  which  can   be   built,  but  which   harmonizes  quite 
well  with  the  style  of  archi-  FIQ.  56. 

tecture  of  the  buildings  which 
it  is  designed  to  surround. 
The  pickets  are  turned  round 
and  pointed,  and  every  alter 
nate  one  passes  through  three 
rails.  The  rails  should  be 
bored  with  precision,  and 
with  an  auger  or  bit  that 
will  cut  a  clean,  smooth  hole, 
so  that  the  pickets  will  fit 
water-tight.  If  they  are 
painted,  there  will  be  no  danger  of  their  rotting  in  the  rails  on 
account  of  the  rain  getting  in  the  joints. 

181.  In  making  this  or  any  other  style  of  picket  fence  up  a 
slope,  the  rails  for  one  panel  must  be  fastened  in  the  position  of 
inclination  in  which  they  are  to  be  placed,  when  the  fence  is 
built,  and  then,  with  the  plumb  rule,  make  a  perpendicular  mark 
on  the  edges  of  the  rails ;  after  which  it  will  be  easy  to  adjust 
the  table  on  which  the  rails  are  laid  when  they  are  bored,  in 
order  to  have  the  holes  of  the  desired  angle.  When  the  fence  is 
built  on  level  ground,  the  holes  for  the  pickets  must  be  bored 
through  the  rails  at  a  right  angle ;  but  if  bored  at  a  right  angle 
when  the  fence  is  not  on  a  level,  the  pickets  will  all  lean  in  pro 
portion  to  the  steepness  of  the  slope,  which  would  look  awkward 
and  very  unworkmanlike. — I  should  not  have  mentioned  these 
particulars,  had  I  not  seen  fences  which  were  made  by  inexpe 
rienced  workmen,  with  the  pickets  leaning  down  the  slope  at 
about  a  right  angle  with  the  surface  of  the  ground. — A  modifica 
tion  of  this  style  of 

AN    ORNAMENTAL    LAWN    FENCE, 

182.  A  fine  specimen  of  which  may  be  seen  encircling  the 
grounds  of  Mr.  Andrus,  of  Ithaca,  is  made  with  turned  posts 
with  acorn  tops,  and  turned  pickets  with  acorn  tops,  with  two 


142  THE  YOUNG  FAEMER's  MANUAL. 

rails  through  which  the  pickets  pass,  and  a  bottom  board  from 
eight  to  twelve  inches  wide.  The  fence  last  mentioned  is  about 
the  neatest  fence  which  I  ever  have  seen  for  a  lawn  fence,  and  as 
durable  as  the  wood  of  which  it  is  made.  The  acorn  tops  are 
turned  in  a  lathe,  with  gouge  and  chisel,  after  the  other  part  has 
been  cut  out  straight.  When  it  is  desired  to  make  the  posts 
ornamental  by  turning  them — as  turned  posts  are  much  cheaper 
than  the  casing  of  posts — a  very  efficient  lathe  may  be  fitted  up 
for  the  purpose,  without  a  mandrel,  by  having  a  point  instead  of 
a  mandrel  at  one  end  of  the  lathe,  with  a  screw  and  point  at  the 
other  end,  and  allowing  the  band  from  the  speed-wheel  of  the 
driving  power  to  pass  round  the  post  instead  of  a  pulley,  on  the 
mandrel.  Or  the  posts  might  be  mounted  with  a  large  wooden 
acorn,  whether  they  were  cased  or  not,  or  with  any  other  orna 
ment  turned  out  of  wood.  But  a  turned  post  would  be  in  better 
keeping  with  the  pickets  than  a  square  one ;  and  a  man  who 
understands  turning,  would  turn  out  three  posts  sooner  than  he 
could  case  one.  As  we  cannot  drive  such  pickets  in  the  rails, 
they  should  be  just  large  enough  to  fill  the  holes,  and  so  that 
they  can  be  worked  in  by  hand,  without  driving  them.  The 
pickets  should  be  thoroughly  seasoned ;  but  the  rails  through 
which  they  pass  may  be  green  or  half  seasoned ;  because,  when 
they  shrink,  they  will  hold  the  pickets  tighter  than  when  they 
have  been  seasoned  before  boring  the  holes. 

AN    ORNAMENTAL    LATTICE    FENCE 

FIG.  57.  183.  Is  shown  at  Fig.  57, 

which  is  often  built  between 
the  gardens  of  adjoining  own 
ers,  or  on  the  back  side  of  lawns 
or  gardens.  The  rails  and  posts 
are  put  up  in  the  same  man" 
ner  as  for  ordinary  picket  fence, 
with  bottom  board  or  not,  as 
preferred ;  and  the  lattice  is 
LATTICE  FKNOK.  made  of  half-inch  stun0,  an  inch 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


143 


and  a  half  or  two  inches  wide,  put  up  at  a  right  angle  to  each 
other,  or  at  an  angle  that  will  make  the  meshes  or  open  spaces 
of  a  rhomboidal  form,  as  in  the  illustration.  The  spaces  may  be 
of  the  width  of  the  lattice  strips,  or  from  three  to  four  inches 
wide.  The  tops  of  them  should  be  screwed  together,  instead  of 
nailing  them,  as  screws  will  hold  much  better  than  nails.  In 
putting  on  the  strips,  they  should  be  kept  at  just  such  an  angle ; 
and  the  surfaces  of  conjunction,  between  the  two  courses  of  lat 
tice,  ought  to  be  painted  before  the  second  course  is  nailed  on. 


THE    FORMS    OF    PICKET    TOPS 

184.  Are  as  numerous  as  the  different  styles  of  fence,  and  may 
be  varied  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  most  fastidious.  Many  men 
like  the  plainest  form  possible  for  picket  tops ;  and  others,  again, 
think  a  fence  very  incomplete  and  tasteless  without  ornamental 
tops  of  some  style.  The  style  of  architecture  in  which  the 
buildings  are  finished  should  determine,  in  a  measure,  the  style 
of  picket  tops  for  the  fence  which  encircles  them.  Figs.  58,  59, 
60,  represent  turned  pickets,  and  are  particularly  adapted  to  rural 
residences,  with  spacious  dooryards,  or  lawns,  beautifully  embel 
lished  with  a  variety  of  shrubs  and  evergreens.  The  top  of 
Fig.  58  is  turned  in  the  shape  of  an  egg.  The  top  of  Fig.  59  is 
of  any  oblong  conical  form.  Fig.  60  is  of  the  form  of  an  acorn. 


FIGS.  58,  59,  60,   61,  62,     63,    64,    65,     66, 


68. 


FORMS   OF  TOPS   OF  PICKETS. 


If  it  were  desirable  to  have  the  acorns  larger  than  the  main  parts 
of  the  pickets,  they  might  be  turned  separately,  and  a  half-inch 


144  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

hole  bored  in  the  lower  ends  of  the  acorns,  and  tenons  made  no 
the  upper  ends  of  the  pickets.  When  this  mode  is  adopted,  the 
acorns  should  be  put  on  tight  with  good  paint.  The  tenons  can 
be  cut  with  a  tenon  auger  fitted  to  the  mandrel  of  a  lathe,  and 
the  acorns  bored  in  a  lathe,  so  that  the  expense  of  fitting  them 
up  in  this  manner  would  be  quite  small.  The  ends  of  round 
pickets  are  many  times  cut  off  square,  or  a  little  rounding,  or 
pointed  in  a  conical  form,  like  those  shown  at  Fig.  56.  Fig.  61 
represents  one  of  the  plainest  styles  of  tops  for  square  or  flat 
pickets,  with  the  corners  saw.ed  off.  Fig.  67  is  particularly 
adapted  to  inclosing  buildings  of  gothic  order  of  architecture. 
When  buildings  are  of  the  very  plainest  order  of  architecture, 
Figs.  63  and  64  would  correspond  quite  as  well  with  the  work 
on  the  buildings  as  any  other  style.  Figs.  62  and  68  would  be 
in  good  keeping  with  the  architecture  of  a  country  villa,  where 
the  balconies  and  verandahs  are  encompassed  with  a  balustrade 
of  turned  balusters.  When  buildings  are  finished  with  a  heavy 
box  cornice,  with  roof  rather  flat,  and  square  columns  with 
bevelled  mouldings,  instead  of  a  bead,  or  ogee,  or  ovals,  Figs.  65 
and  66  would  be  in  good  keeping  with  the  workmanship  of  them. 
185.  The  most  expeditious  manner  of  rounding  the  tops  like 
Fig.  63  is,  to  put  fifty  pickets  or  so  in  a  gripe,  with  the  top  ends 
all  even,  flat  sides  together,  and  set  them  up  by  the  side  of  a 
work-bench,  letting  them  stand  on  the  lower  ends,  and  shave  the 
corners  nearly  round  with  a  drawing-knife,  and  then  a  few  strokes 
with  a  joiner's  hollow  plane  will  make  them  all  true.  When  all 
the  corners  are  to  be  cut  off,  like  Fig.  64,  a  lot  of  them  may  be 
put  in  a  gripe,  or  they  may  be  cornered  with  a  drawing-knife 
while  they  are  held  in  a  vise,  or  they  may  all  be  nailed  on  the 
rails  of  the  fence,  and  cornered  with  drawing-knife  and  bench 
plane.  Figs.  62,  65,  66,  67,  and  68,  are  usually  put  in  a  gripe? 
with  top  ends  even,  and  laid  on  the  work-bench,  and  some  parts 
cut  with  a  back-saw  and  rabbet-plane,  or  a  joiner's  dado,  or  with 
planes  called  hollows  and  rounds.  A  joiner's  dado,  for  such 
work,  is  a  very  useful  tool.  There  are  many  other  forms  for 
picket  tops,  but  these  must  suffice  for  a  work  of  this  character. 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL.  145 

SECTON    V. STONE    FENCE. 

"  Let  me  but  place  one  stone  within  the  wall, 
While  the  stout  masons,  with  great  plumb  and  line, 
Are  laying  the  foundations  broad  and  deep." — T.  B.  BEAD. 

186.  Stone  fence  or  stone  wall  is  about  the  best  and  most 
durable  and  efficient  fence  that  can  be  erected,  when  it  is  properly 
built ;  but  some  farmers,  who  have  an  abundance  of  stone,  have 
no  confidence  in  stone  fence,  because  it  tumbles  down  so  fre 
quently  in  places,  making  gaps  for  the  ingress  or  egress  of  hogs 
or  sheep.  But  the  difficulty  is  almost  always  attributable  to  im 
perfect  workmanship  in  building.  Stone  walls  are  usually  built 
by  jobbers,  who  itinerate  through  the  country  in  search  of  labor  ; 
and  who  sometimes  understand  the  business  well,  and  will  lay  up 
a  good  wall  if  their  employer  understands  what  constitutes  a  good 
wall,  and  insists  on  having  his  work  done  to  order.  Jobbers  often 
will  slight  their  jobs  all  they  possibly  can;  and  if  they  discover  that 
their  employer  does  not  know  when  the  work  is  well  done,  they 
will  toss  the  stones  together  any  how,  and  pocket  their  wages 
and  be  off.  But  if  they  have  their  orders  how  to  lay  up  a  wall, 
and  these  are  insisted  on  at  the  time  of  negotiating,  and  the  over 
seer  watches  the  builders,  there  will  be  little  danger  of  stone 
walls  tumbling  down  in  consequence  of  having  been  laid  up  in 
an  unworkmanlike  manner.  Jobbers  will  often  insist  that  it  is 
just  as  well  to  lay  the  foundation  stones  on  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  as  it  is  to  lay  them  eight  or  ten  inches  below  the  surface. 
If  the  foundation  stones  were  always  flat  on  the  bottom,  and  large 
enough  to  extend  entirely  across  the  bottom  of  the  wall,  it  would 
be  just  as  well  to  lay  them  directly  on  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
because  the  entire  wall  would  settle  bodily  and  evenly,  and,  if  the 
frost  gets  under  it,  it  will  be  raised  evenly.  But  when  the  founda 
tion  consists  of  small  stones,  either  flat  ones  or  bowlders,  they 
will  not  settle  perpendicularly.  Large  bowlders,  when  laid  on 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  will  seldom  settle  straight  down ;  be 
cause,  when  more  rain  runs  off  of  one  side  than  the  other,  the 
soil  in  one  place  will  become  softer  than  it  is  in  others,  and  if 


146  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

the  stone  rests  on  that  point  it  will  be  very  liable  to  slide  a  little 
sideways  in  that  direction.  And  when  the  foundation  is  a  part 
small  bowlders,  and  another  part  large  flat  stones,  and  another 
portion  something  else,  the  wall  will  not  all  settle  alike,  and  the 
frost  will  not  lift  it  all  alike ;  and,  by  constant  lifting  and  letting 
down,  here  and  there,  the  wall  will  begin  to  spread  out  in  places, 
and  in  a  few  years  will  tumble  down.  A  wall  may  often  have  the 
appearance  of  being  well  laid  up,  when  in  reality  it  has  been 
very  imperfectly  done.  It  requires  the  exercise  of  good  skill  and 
judgment  to  place  every  stone  in  the  best  position,  so  that  it  will 
not  roll  or  rock  about  at  the  slightest  touch.  Almost  every  stone 
has  one  side  a  little  broader  and  flatter  than  the  other  sides ;  and 
the  best  side  should  be  always  laid  down,  so  as  to  keep  the  stones 
from  rocking  about.  If  a  stone  has  one  good  face  side,  and  will 
He  more  substantially  with  that  side  down,  let  it  be  laid  in  that 
position  rather  than  to  set  it  on  the  edge  for  the  sake  of  having 
the  face  side  outwards.  It  is  desirable  to  have  a  straight  and 
smooth  face  to  the  stones  in  a  wall ;  but  when  this  object  cannot 
be  secured  without  detracting  from  the  permanence  of  it,  it  is 
best  to  place  the  best  sides  down,  even  if  the  wall  is  not  quite 
as  even  and  smooth  as  we  could  desire.  A  wall  may  be  just  as 
strong  when  the  stones  all  have  a  rough  and  uneven  face,  as  if 
those  rough  and  uneven  corners  were  all  knocked  off  and  a 
smooth  face  made  on  them.  When  jobbers  lay  up  a  wall,  the 
stones  of  which  are  mostly  small  bowlders,  if  they  are  not 
watched  closely  they  will  lay  up  a  row  for  each  face,  and  then 
throw  in  small  stones  without  any  order  at  all,  to  fill  up  the  mid 
dle.  'But  such  a  wall  will  stand  but  a  few  years,  because  the 
sides  will  bulge  out  in  a  short  time,  and  it  will  fall  flat  to  the 
ground.  The  stones  of  a  wall  should  all  lie  flatly,  and  lap  on 
one  another  clear  across  the  wall.  Such  a  mode  of  laying  stone 
will  keep  the  wall  from  spreading  or  bulging  out  in  places. 

187.  Stone  walls  are  usually  built  by  the  perch  or  by  the  rod, 
running  measure,  with  the  foundation  and  top  of  a  given  width, 
and  the  wall  of  a  given  height.  A  perch  of  wall  is  sixteen  and 
a  half  feet  long,  and  a  foot  square,  or  sixteen  and  a  half  cubic 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  147 

feet.  A  rod  of  wall  may  be  two  feet  wide  or  ten  feet  wide,  and 
almost  any  given  height,  but  always  sixteen  and  a  half  feet 
long.  When  walls  are  laid  up  dry,  the  faces  or  sides  should  be 
laid  battering,  as  they  will  stand  much  more  permanently  than 
when  the  sides  are  built  perpendicularly.  When  the  stones  are 
mostly  small  and  round,  the  faces  should  be  laid  more  battering  than 
when  nearly  all  flat  stones  are  used.  If  the  stones  of  which  a 
fence  is  to  be  made  be  nearly  all  large  and  flat  ones,  it  is  quite 
as  well  to  lay  the  faces  perpendicularly,  as  battering.  The  most 
important  idea  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  laying  up  a  stone  wall  is, 
to  have  all  the  stones  laid  in  such  a  manner  as  to  bind  the  wall 
together,  from  face  to  face,  so  that  the  faces  will  not  separate. 
The  following  figures  will  enable  the  farmer  to  know,  if  he  is  not 
a  practical  stone  layer,  whether  a  wall  is  laid  up  in  a  workman 
like  manner,  or  whether  it  is  performed  in  a  slighty,  job-cheating 
way.  Fig.  69  represents  a  transverse  section  of  a  fence  or  stone 
wall  which  is  laid  so  as  to  bind  the  two  faces  together,  and  which 
is  done  in  a  workmanlike  manner.  It  will  be  perceived  that 
there  are  no  large  holes  between  the  stones,  and  that  they  are  all 
laid  flat,  and  not  pitching  this  way  and  that  way,  and  are  laid  so 
as  to  bind  from  face  to  face. 

Fig.  70  shows  a  section  of  the  same  wall,  and  of  the  same  size, 

FIG.  69.  FIG.  70. 


A  SECTION  OF  WALL  WELL  LAID.  A  SECTION   OF  WALL  IMPROPERLY  LAID. 

and  having  faces  equally  as  good  as  Fig.  69,  but  which  is  laid  up 
verv  slightly,  with  merely  a  row  of  stones  for  each  face,  while 
the  m/.-lik  of  the  wall  is  filled  with  stones  thrown  in  promiscu- 


148  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

ously,  without  being  placed  so  as  to  lie  firmly,  and  without  having 
the  face  stones  chocked  on  the  inside.  It  is  always  very  impor 
tant  to  have  the  face  stones  well  chocked  on  the  inside.  It  is  of 
little  or  no  importance,  usually,  to  chock  stones  on  the  face  side. 
But  if  face  stones  are  not  well  levelled  up,  and  chocked  up  on  the 
inside,  especially  in  erecting  a  wall  with  a  single  face  along  a 
bank  of  earth,  a  wall  is  sure  to  bulge  out  and  fall  in  a  few  years. 
This  explains,  in  a  great  measure,  why  walls  under  a  house  or 
barn  often  bulge  into  the  cellar  and  fall :  the  face  stones  were  not 
well  chocked  on  the  inside ;  and  a  small  force,  produced  by  the 
superincumbent  pressure  of  a  heavy  building,  or  by  the  freezing 
and  expansion  of  the  bank  against  which  the  wall  is  erected,  will 
thrust  the  walls  into  the  cellar.  When  long  stones  are  laid  in  a 
stone  wall,  and  the  ends  or  sides  within  the  wall  do  not  rest  one 
on  the  other,  if  they  are  not  chocked  clear  to  the  ends,  (not  back 
six  or  eight  inches  from  the  ends,)  the  superincumbent  pressure 
of  the  stones  which  rest  on  the  ends  of  these  long  stones  will  tend 
to  bring  the  ends  together,  and  to  separate  the  ends  at  the  face, 
thus  bringing  them  into  a  position  to  be  forced  or  thrust  easily 
from  the  centre  of  the  wall. 


MANIPULATIONS   IN    BUILDING-   A   STONE    WALL. 

188.  The  first  thing  in  building  a  stone  fence  usually  is,  to 
haul  the  stone ;  and  they  are  usually  thrown  in  a  long  row,  ex 
actly  where  the  fence  is  to  stand.  This  is  always  wrong.  If 
stones  are  gathered  from  year  to  year,  and  hauled  to  a  given  place 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  stone  fence,  the  place  where  it  is  to 
stand  should  be  staked  off,  and  no  stone  should  be  dropped  within 
four  feet  of  the  point  where  the  face  of  the  wall  is  to  be,  on  both 
sides  of  it.  If  the  wall  is  to  be  made  six  or  eight  feet  wide  on 
the  bottom,  no  stone  should  be  dropped  nearer  than  six  feet, 
especially  if  they  are  mostly  large  ones.  It  is  a  great  fault  with 
most  farmers  who  build  stone  fence,  to  get  their  stones .  too  close 
to  the  wall.  It  is  but  the  work  of  a  few  moments  to  tumble  a 
large  stone  six  or  eight  feet ;  and  it  is  far  better  to  have  a  stone 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  149 

one  foot  too  far  away  than  to  have  it  a  foot  too  close,  to  obstruct 
the  progress  of  workmen. 

189.  When  a  stone  wall  is  to  be  erected  directly  on  the  surface 
of  the  soil,  the  stones  may  all  be  dropped  in  a  long  pile  where  the 
fence  is  to  be  built,  and  then  the  workmen  can  commence  at  one 
end  and  carry  the  stones  back  and  lay  them  up ;  and  if  they 
should  not  be  abundant  enough  without  carrying  them  too  far  in 
some  places,  they  can  be  hauled  along  the  side  of  the  wall  where 
they  are  needed.     But  we  do  not  advocate  the  practice  of  erect 
ing  a  stone  wall  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  because  it  will  not 
settle  alike,  unless  the  soil  is  of  a  uniform  quality ;  and  as  the 
frosts  of  winter  will  raise  it  whenever  it  freezes  beneath  the  foun 
dation  stones,  it  is  very  liable  to  freeze  in  freezing  weather  on  the 
windward  side  first ;  and  perhaps  it  will  not  freeze  on  the  leeward 
side  at  all  under  the  foundation  stones.     "When  this  is  the  case, 
when  one  side  of  a  stone  wall  is  lifted  by  the  frost,  and  the  whole 
of  it  does  not  go  up  bodily,  the  stones  will  most  of  them  be  dis 
placed  a  little.     And  again,  supposing  that  it  has  all  been  lifted 
bodily  and  evenly,  when  the  ground  comes  to  thaw  it  is  not  at  all 
likely  to  thaw  evenly  and  settle  uniformly.     This  will  displace 
the  stones  a  little,  and  a  large  number  of  such  little  displacements 
will  soon  produce  bulges  in  the  wall ;  and  as  soon  as  a  wall  com 
mences  bulging  here  and  there  a  little,  it  is  very  liable  to  fall  in 
a  few  years.     In  order  to  build  a  wall  that  will  stand  as  long  as 
any  man  will  need  a  fence,  the  soil  where  the  fence  is  to  stand 
should  all  be  thrown  out,  to  a  depth  which  will  insure  safety  from 
settling,  or  from  heaving  by  frost.     In  some  localities  the  neces 
sary  depth  will  be  only  four  inches,  while  in  other  places,  perhaps 
in  the   same  field,  a  depth  of  from  eight  to   fourteen   inches  will 
be   necessary.     T\e  foundation  stones  should  be  well  laid,  and 
chocked  up  all  round.     If  a  large  stone,  for  instance,  has  but  one 
flat,  or  smooth  side,  and  has  more  the  appearance  of  half  of  a 
globe  than  anything  else,  it  is  best  to  dig  a  hollow  in  the  hard 
ground  which  will  correspond  well  with  the  round  side  of  it,  and 
place  it  with  the  smooth  or  flat  side  up. 

190.  The  width  of  the  wall  on  the  ground  must  be  determined 


150  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

in  part  by  the  size  of  the  foundation  stones.  Should  there  be  a 
good  number  of  large  bowlders,  from  four  to  five  feet  in  diameter, 
it  will  be  best  to  have  the  wall  about  that  width.  Between  the 
bowlders  let  a  row  of  good  stones  be  laid  for  each  face ;  now  fill 
up  the  middle,  and  level  it  off  entirely  across  the  wall.  Then  if 
a  large  flat  stone,  or  a  number  of  them,  can  be  obtained,  lay  them 
on  the  long  way  across  the  wall,  and  chock  them  well,  so  that  a 
man  may  step  on  them  without  rocking  or  moving  them.  If  there 
is  a  number  of  ill-shapen,  rough-looking  bowlders,  let  them  be 
laid  on  such  places  as  the  tops  of  the  large  flat  stones,  and  chock 
them  well.  Let  the  workmen  be  particular  to  break  joints  well, 
i.  e.,  let  a  stone  be  laid  directly  over  the  joints  of  the  two  below 
it ;  let  long  stones  from  each  face  of  the  wall  extend  inward  as 
far  as  possible,  and  if  a  few  can  be  obtained  which  will  extend 
from  face  to  face,  they  will  render  the  wall  doubly  strong.  When 
there  are  more  large  bowlders  than  can  be  laid  in  the  foundation 
course,  if  two  or  three  men  cannot  lift  them  two  or  three  feet 
high  on  the  wall,  place  a  strong  bench  by  the  side  of  the  wall, 
and  lay  a  couple  of  plank,  with  one  end  on  the  bench  and  the 
other  on  the  ground,  and  roll  the  large  stones  up  this  inclined 
plane  with  a  cant-hook,  and  lay  them  carefully  on  the  wall.  In 
this  way  one  man  may  handle  stones  with  ease,  and  place  them 
on  the  wall  three  or  four  feet  from  the  ground,  which  three  or 
four  men  could  not  lift  directly  to  that  place.  "When  there  is 
stone  enough  to  build  a  wall,  we  will  say  three  feet  wide  on  the 
bottom,  and  two  feet  or  two  and  a  half  on  the  top,  and  three  feet 
high,  if  there  should  be  enough  bowlders  about  two  feet  in  diam 
eter  to  form  a  single  row  the  entire  length  of  the  fence,  they 
should  be  left  till  the  wall  is  finished,  from  three  to  four  feet  high, 
as  the  case  may  be,  and  then  these  bowlders  should  be  laid  care 
fully  on  the  top  of  the  wall,  close  together,  and  chocked  up  well  all 
around.  Such  bowlders  will  be  more  efficient  in  building  a  fence 
when  placed  in  such  a  part  of  the  wall,  than  they  would  be  if  they 
were  placed  near  the  bottom ;  but  they  should  be  assorted,  and 
those  of  a  given  size  should  be  placed  together.  If  we  would 
make  a  fence  five  feet  high,  for  example,  it  may  be  made  three 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  151 

feet  high  as  far  as  the  bowlders,  which  are  two  feet  in  diameter, 
will  extend ;  and  then,  if  a  lot  of  bowlders  are  but  twenty  inches 
in  diameter,  let  the  wall  be  laid  a  few  inches  higher,  so  that  the 
tops  of  all  the  bowlders  will  be  of  a  given  height.  It  is  a  very 
great  help,  in  putting  on  these  cope  stones,  to  lay  two  strips  of 
boards,  about  three  inches  wide,  and  the  longer  the  better,  on  the 
top  of  the  wall,  with  their  edges  even  with  the  faces  of  the  wall, 
and  then  lay  on  the  cope  stones,  letting  them  rest  on  these  strips 
of  boards.  A  board  or  plank  as  wide  as  the  top  of  the  wall  is 
often  laid  on  the  top  for  the  cope  stones  to  rest  on;  but  two  strips 
of  boards,  I  think,  are  preferable,  because  they  are  cheaper,  and 
they  do  not  require  so  much  chocking  on  the  sides,  and  any  cor 
ners  or  points  of  the  stones  will  set  down  between  these  strips  much 
better  than  they  would  rest  on  a  wide  plank. 

What  has  been  penned  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  has  partic 
ular  reference  to  walls  which  are  made  of  all  kinds  of  stone.  "We 
shall  now  notice  the  best  mode  of  building 


COBBLE-STONE    FENCE. 

191.  When  stone  fences  are  made  of  small  stones  only,  where 
there  are  no  flat  stones  to  bind  the  wall  together,  small  strips  of 
wood,  called  binders,  about  an  inch  wide  and  one-fourth  of  an 
inch  thick,  which  are  usually  split  out  of  cedar  or  some  other 
durable  wood,  are  laid  between  all  the  courses  of  stone  as  thickly 
as  thought  proper ;  but  one  binder  extending  entirely  across  the 
wall  to  every  six  or  twelve  inches  will  be  sufficient.  If  the 
stones  are  all  quite  small,  it  would  be  well  to  use  more  binders 
than  if  the  stones  were  larger.  The  stones  will  settle  a  little  into 
these  wooden  binders,  and  keep  the  sides  from  bulging  out  and 
falling  down.  The  binders  should  not  extend  beyond  the  face  of 
the  wall  far  enough  to  allow  cattle  to  move  them ;  they  should 
be  cut  of  different  lengths,  when  the  wall  batters  on  both  faces, 
so  as  to  be  just  as  long  as  the  wall  is  wide,  as  the  wall  increases 
in  height.  When  any  of  the  binders  extend  beyond  the  face  of 
the  wall,  the  ends  should  be  sawed  off  even  with  the  stones. 
7 


152  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

This  mode  of  building  refers  more  particularly  to  walls  about 
thirty  inches  wide  on  the  bottom,  and  a  foot  wide  at  the  top,  and 
from  three  to  four  feet  high.  This  kind  of  wall  is  sometimes  cov 
ered  with  a  row  of  square  stones,  sometimes  one  foot  square;  and 
sometimes  stones  from  two  to  six  feet  long,  and  from  four  to  ten 
inches  thick,  and  as  wide,  or  even  a  few  inches  wider,  than  the 
top  of  the  wall,  are  placed  carefully  on  the  top.  Sometimes  a 
stick  of  timber  is  placed  on  the  top  of  the  wall,  and  the  top  of  it 
dressed  in  the  shape  of  a  roof  of  a  building,  and  cased  and  painted. 
Sometimes,  again,  when  such  a  wall  is  from  three  to  four  feet 
high,  the  top  is  levelled  off,  and  a  board  of  some  durable  timber 
is  placed  on  the  top,  and  stones  of  a  given  size,  which  were 
reserved  when  the  workmen  were  carrying  up  the  wall,  are  placed 
on  the  top  close  together,  and  chocked  up  well  on  both  sides.  It 
will  require  the  exercise  of  a  little  skill  to  place  these  cope  stones 
in  the  most  firm  and  permanent  manner.  A  large  stone  should 
be  placed  at  the  end  to  keep  them  from  moving  readily,  and  the 
others  should  be  placed  in  the  best  possible  manner  for  laying 
firmly  and  wedging  the  entire  length  of  the  wall.  Sometimes 
such  walls  are  finished  with  two  or  three  rails  in  height,  or,  what 
is  much  better,  long  poles  staked  and  ridered. 

192.  Throwing  a  bank  of  earth  against  each  side  of  a  wall 
about  two  feet  high,  and  sowing  grass  seed  on  it,  is  highly  recom 
mended  by  some,  and  equally  denounced  by  others.  "When  a 
wall  is  resting  on  a  good  foundation,  below  the  influence  of  frost, 
there  can  be  no  advantage  in  banking  up  the  sides  of  a  wall,  ex 
cepting  this :  it  prevents  stock  from  approaching  as  closely  to  it 
as  they  could  do  if  it  were  not  banked  up,  and  consequently  they 
are  thus  deprived  of  the  advantage  they  would  otherwise  have,  to 
rub,  and  hook,  and  displace  any  of  the  stones.  Many  farmers 
contend,  and  with  very  plausible  reasoning,  too,  that  when  a  wall 
is  banked  up  the  dirt  finds  its  way  between  the  stones,  filling  all 
the  spaces  so  completely  that  a  frost  affects  a  wall  just  as  much, 
and  sometimes  even  more,  than  it  would  if  it  were  built  on  the 
surface  of  the  soil.  If  a  wall  is  properly  laid  up,  a  bank  of  earth 
on  each  side  will  not  make  it  stand  any  longer  than  if  it  were  not 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  153 

there.     The  farmer  can  do  as  his  own  judgment  may  dictate  in 
reference  to  banking  up  the  sides. 

193.  Another  thing  of  no  little  importance  in  building  stone 
fence  is,  to  lay  all  the  stones  as  nearly  level  as  may  be  practica 
ble.     In  making  a  wall  up  or  down  a  slope,  the  workmen  should 
always  work  up  hill,  laying  the  stones  level,  instead  of  laying 
them  parallel  with  the  surface  of  the  ground.     When  stones  are 
laid  sloping  in  a  wall,  they  are  moved  much  more  easily  than 
when  they  are  laid  in  a  level  position  ;  consequently,  a  wall  built 
in  such  a  manner  would  not  be  as  strong  as  it  would  be  were  the 
same  stones  laid  level. 

194.  Whenever  a  wall  is  built  along  the  hillside,  and  the  dirt 
is  hauled  down  against  it,  the  face  of  the  wall  should  be  more 
battering  than  are  the  faces  of  a  double-faced  stone  wall.     It  is  a 
very  great  error  to  lay  up  a  wall  in  such  places  with  the  face 
perpendicular ;  because  the  earth  will  freeze  and  expand  behind 
the  wall,  and,  unless  it  is  several  feet  in  thickness,  it  will  thrust 
it  over  in  a  very  few  years.     Stone  walls  that  are   erected  along 
the  sides  of  abutments  should  always  be  laid  battering,  lest  the 
sides  bulge  out  in  a  few  seasons,  and  they  fall.     The  face  of  such 
a  wall  should  be  laid  battering  not  less  than  one  foot  in  three. 
For  example,  if  a  wall  be  three  feet  high,  it  should  be  laid  bat 
tering  one  foot ;  and  if  six  feet  high,  two  feet  battering.     And 
there  is  another  very  important  consideration  in  laying  up  such  a 
wall,  which  is  almost  always  entirely  overlooked,  or  not  even 
thought  of,  which  is  this:  the  stones,  especially  the  flat  ones, 
instead  of  being  laid  level,  as  in  other  kinds  of  wall,  should  be 
laid  pitching  inward  towards  the  bank  or  hill  above,  with  their 
surfaces  at  a  right  angle  to  the  face  of  the  wall.     When  a  wall  is 
laid  up  in  this  manner,  if  the  frost  should  ever  thrust  it  over  any, 
it  would  settle  back  again  to  its  original  position  as  soon  as  the 
earth  behind  became  all  thawed  out.     When  a  wall  is  built  along 
a  side-hill,  as  has  been  mentioned,  it  should  never  be  less  than 
two  feet  thick  clear  to  the  top.     It  should  be  as  thick,  and  even 
thicker,  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom.     The  wider  it  is,  the  less 
liable  it  is  to  be  thrust  over  by  the  frosts  of  winter.     In  localities 


154  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

where  there  is  an  excess  of  water  in  the  soil,  arising  from  springs, 
a  good  ditch  should  be  made,  and  well  tiled  or  stoned  two  or 
three  feet  above  the  foundation  of  the  fence,  in  order  to  receive 
the  water  before  it  should  saturate  the  earth  under  the  founda 
tion  of  the  wall.  This  precaution  will  keep  the  dirt  about  the 
wall  more  dry,  and  consequently  less  liable  to  heave  by  freezing. 

DITCHES    UNDER    STONE    WALLS. 

195.  It  is  a  very  common  practice  with  some  farmers  to  throw 
out  the  earth,  where  a  stone  fence  is  to  be  built,  to  the  depth  of 
thirty  or  forty  inches,  and  from  two  to  four  or  five  feet  wide,  or 
as  wide  as  the  wall  is  to  be  built  at  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
and  then  fill  this  channel  with  small  stones,  thrown  in  promis 
cuously.  In  this  operation  they  have  two  or  three  objects  in 
view — draining  the  soil,  preparing  a  good  foundation  for  the 
fence,  and  a  place  for  the  surplus  stone.  But  this  is  a  very  ex 
pensive  way  of  disposing  of  surplus  stone  of  any  kind.  It  would 
be  far  more  economical  to  lay  them  up  even  on  the  top  of  a  wall 
that  is  already  high  enough,  than  to  bury  them  beneath  the  soil. 
"We  do  not  approve  of  nor  advocate  the  practice  of  forming  a 
channel  for  water  beneath  a  stone  wall,  by  simply  allowing  the 
water  to  percolate  between  the  stones,  because  dirt  will  keep 
working  towards  the  bottom,  and  mice  will  haul  in  dirt  in  places, 
so  as  to  stop  the  passage  of  water  entirely.  "When  it  is  desirable 
to  have  a  passage  for  water  under  a  stone  fence,  the  earth  should 
be  thrown  out  from  one  to  four  feet  deep,  to  suit  the  judgment  of 
the  proprietor ;  and  then  a  channel  should  be  dug  in  the  bottom 
of  this  trench  from  six  to  twelve  inches  deep,  and  a  good  throat 
laid,  as  in  an  ordinary  ditch,  and  well  chinked  with  small  stone, 
and  then  filled  with  the  kind  of  earth  that  was  taken  from  it, 
and  well  trodden  down  even  with  the  bottom  of  the  large  trench. 
If  there  should  be  much  water,  it  would  be  necessary  to  make  a 
large  throat ;  but,  whether  a  large  or  small  throat  be  made, 
the  workman  should  exercise  unusual  care  to  do  every  part  of 
the  work  in  such  a  manner  that  mice  cannot  possibly  find  tlicir 
way  into  the  throat  of  the  ditch.  If  the  ditch  be  well  chinked 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  155 

with  small  stones,  and  then  about  six  inches  of  hard  earth  be  well 
trodden  down  on  these  stones,  mice  will  never  try  to  burrow  in  it, 
and  the  water  will  have  a  free  channel  as  long  as  water  runs. 
A  row  of  tile  laid  beneath  a  stone  fence  would  be  the  most 
complete  manner  of  making  a  permanent  channel  for  water ;  but 
where  stone  is  abundant,  economy  dictates  that  they  should  be 
used  for  this  purpose.  "When  stone  walls  are  built  up  and  down 
a  steep  slope,  with  a  stone  drain  beneath  them  where  there  will 
be  much  water,  flat  stones  should  be  laid  in  the  bottom  of  the 
ditch  to  prevent  the  water  from  gullying  the  bottom  of  the 
ditch,  and  thus  undermining  the  wall.  Where  there  is  much 
flood-water,  make  a  deep  furrow  on  each  eide  of  the  wall  in  the 
former  part  of  summer,  and  seed  it,  so  that  a  stream  of  water 
will  not  wash  it  away.  (See  MANNER  OF  STONING  DITCHES,  Par. 
422.) 

DITCHES    ON    BOTH    SIDES    OF    A   WALL. 

196.  Many  farmers  seem  to  prefer  to  have  a  deep  ditch  usually 
open  on  both  sides  of  their  stone  walls,  to  having  a  ditch  directly 
beneath  the  wall,  as  has  been  recommended.  The  method  pur 
sued  in  such  cases  is,  after  the  wall  is  finished,  to  cut  a  large 
open  ditch  on  both  sides  of  the  wall,  say  three  or  four  feet  wide 
on  the  top,  according  to  the  depth  of  it,  and  about  one  foot  on 
the  bottom,  leaving  sufficient  space  between  the  ditch  and  the 
wall  to  receive  all  the  dirt,  so  that  when  the  ditch  is  finished  the 
embankment  on  each  side  of  the  wall  will  correspond  with  the 
slope  of  the  sides  of  the  ditch.  The  sides  are  then  sown  with 


197.  Although  this  style  of  stone  fence  is  very  common  and 
much  admired,  it  is  decidedly  objectionable  on  account  of  the 
expense  incurred  in  cutting  two  such  large  ditches,  and  also  the 
amount  of  land  occupied.  If  the  two  ditches  are  made  three 
feet  wide  on  the  top,  and  the  spaces  from  them  to  the  wall  be 
four  feet  on  each  side,  and  the  wall  three  or  four  feet  wide  on  the 
bottom,  and  as  we  cannot  plow  nearer  than  about  two  feet  to  a 
ditch,  it  will  be  perceived  that  the  space  occupied  by  such  a  fence 
will  be  about  twenty  feet  wide,  or  more,  when  less  than  half  that 


156  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

space,  with  a  ditch  beneath  the  wall,  would  be  much  cheaper 
and  subserve  a  better  purpose. 

HALF   WALL 

198.  In  localities  where  stone  is  not  very  abundant,  and  where 
there  is  some  fencing  timber,  a  very  good,  economical,  and  dura 
ble  fence  can  be  made  by  laying  a  stone  wall  two  or  three  feet 
high,  according  to  the  amount  of  stone  at  hand,  and  then  by 
staking  and  finishing  with  two  or  more  rails,  as  may  be  necessary 
to  make  it  of  sufficient  height  to  turn  stock.     Some  farmers  finish 
their  stone  fence  by  laying  on  the  top  of  the  wall  long  poles, 
say  twenty  or  thirty  feet  in  length,  and  then  staking  it,  and  after 
wards  laying  on  heavy  poles  for  riders. 

199.  Another  mode  of  building  half  wall  fence  is,  to  set  the 
posts  as  for  a  whole  board  fence,  and  then  lay  up  the  wall  about 
hah0  as  high  as  the  fence  is  to  be  made,  and  then  nail  on  the  two 
top  boards.     If  the  boards  should  be  nailed  on  before  the  stone 
are  laid  up,  they  will  be  very  much  in  the  way  of  the  workmen. 

200.  Another  manner  of  finishing  a  half  wall  fence  is,  to  set 
the  posts,  and,  after  the  wall  is  laid  up,  fasten  rails  to  the  posts 
with  wires,  as  shown  by  Fig.  22,  paragraph  94,  skeleton  fence. 
When  this  mode  is  adopted,  rails  may  be  used,  or  poles  twenty 
feet  long,  instead  of  rails". 

A    CHEAP   WALL    OF    QUARRIED    STONE. 

201.  Whenever  stone  are  quarried  expressly  for  a  fence,  and 
they  can  be  taken  from  the  quarry  from  one  to  two  feet  wide,  and 
from  two  to  eight  or  ten  feet  in  length,  a  small  amount  of  stone 
may  be  made  to  build  a  long  line  of  fence,  in  the  following  man 
ner,  which  will  stand  firmly  as  long  as  one  man  will  need  the 
advantages  of  a  good  fence,  and  subserve  as  good  purpose  as 
those  walls  in  which  there  are  three  or  four  times  the  amount  of 
stone. 

202.  If  the  soil  where  the  wall  is  to  be  built  is  at  all  inclined 
to  be  a  little  wet,  let  a  ditch  be  made  as  directed  (paragraph 
195),  and  then  throw  up  a  ridge  of  earth  over  the  ditch  not  less 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  157 

than  two  feet  high,  and  three  feet  wide  on  the  top  of  it,  and  six 
feet  or  more  at  the  bottom.  Let  it  all  be  smoothed  off  level,  and 
grass  seed  sowed  on  it.  Allow  it  to  settle  for  one  year  or  more, 
and  then  lay  the  stone  wall  directly  on  the  top  of  this  ridge. 

203.  The  object  of  the  ridge  of  earth  is,  to  save  stone;  and  the 
object  of  seeding  with  grass  seed  is,  to  prevent  the  rain  from  wash 
ing  it  down;  and  the  object  of  letting  it  settle  one  year  or  more 
before  the  wall  is  laid  on  it  is,  to  have  the  earth  the  entire  length 
of  the  ridge  of  a  uniform  density,  so  that  the  whole  wall  will  set 
tle  uniformly.  Other  advantages  of  such  a  wall  will  be  readily 
perceived  without  mentioning  them. 

HON.  A.  B.  CONGER'S  STONE  WALLS. 

Hon.  A.  B.  Conger,  President  of  the  N.  Y.  State  Agricultural 
Society,  has  forwarded  me  his  mode  of  building  stone  walls,  which 
has  been  very  successfully  adopted  by  many  other  farmers  in  va 
rious  parts  of  the  State. 

"I  cast  up  a  ridge  with  plows  and  shovels  about  eighteen 
inches  high,  one  foot  or  more  wider  on  the  top  than  the  bottom 
of  the  wall  is  to  be  made.  This  is  done  at  any  time  before  frost, 
as  opportunity  offers.  The  bottom  stone  are  then  hauled  on, 
even  in  the  winter,  and  placed  in  a  line,  without  the  usual  filling 
in  with  small  stones,  so  as  to  have  the  benefit  of  being  thoroughly 
bedded  in  by  the  following  spring,  when  they  can  be  readjusted, 
if  necessary,  to  the  line,  and  filled  in  ;  and  the  "  seconds  " — stones 
of  a  smaller  size  than  the  bottom  ones — are  placed  upon  them, 
and  the  wall  raised  to  three  and  a  half  feet  high,  without  levelling. 
After  the  foundation  has  been  laid,  the  wall  may  be  left  to  un 
dergo  another  settling  by  the  next  winter  frosts,  and  early  in  the 
succeeding  spring  can  be  topped  off  and  finished.  In  all  cases 
thorough  draining  of  the  ground  where  the  wall  is  built  is  very 
necessary  for  the  security  of  the  wall,  otherwise  water  will  be 
absorbed  and  remain  late  in  the  season  under  the  bed  of  the  wall, 
and  so  tend  to  its  upheaval. 

"It  may  be  added,  that  the  strength  of  the  wall  and  its  durabil 
ity  will  be  materially  assisted  by  the  care  of  the  builder  in  chink- 


158  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

ing  in  all  the  interstices  between  the  large  stones,  and  especially 
by  a  careful  binding  of  the  sides  together,  as  only  in  this  way 
can  displacement  be  prevented  under  the  action  of  our  severe 
winters.  In  passing  across  gullies,  or  over  undulating  fields,  it 
may  be  well,  in  order  to  give  the  wall  when  finished  a  more  uni 
form  top-line,  to  lay  a  lower  wall  of  the  rougher  stone  of  a  height 
to  correspond  with  that  of  the  ridge  on  which  they  are  placed. 
The  width  and  height  of  a  wall  will  necessarily  vary  with  the 
quality,  size  and  character  of  the  stone.  If  large  bowlders  exist 
in  abundance,  they  must  be  blasted  when  they  are  larger  in  diam 
eter  than  the  base  of  the  wall.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  build  the 
wall  four  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  four  feet  eight  inches  high,  and 
twenty  inches  wide  at  the  top.  If  the  stone  are  of  a  smaller  size, 
and  cobbles  mostly,  or  of  slate,  the  width  at  the  bottom  may  be 
two  and  a  half  feet  only. 

"It  is  understood  that  a  wall  is  considered  of  a  lawful  height  if 
it  is  four  feet  six  inches  high.  But  I  have  thought  best  to  con 
struct  my  walls  four  feet  eight  inches  high,  so  as  to  allow  for 
settling." 

Some  farmers  cut  an  open  ditch  on  both  sides  of  the  wall,  and 
throw  up  the  dirt  on  the  top  of  the  ridge  against  each  side  of  the 
wall,  so  that  animals  cannot  approach  the  wall.  But  such  ditches 
take  up  too  much  land,  and  increase  the  expense  of  a  fence  to  an 
unnecessary  amount.  (See  par.  196  and  197.) 

QUARRYING    STONE. 

204.  The  first  step  in  taking  stone  of  any  kind  from  a  quarry 
is,  to  remove  the  dirt  from  a  large  surface.  Sometimes  this  may 
be  done  with  a  team  and  scraper ;  and  sometimes,  when  a  stream 
of  water  is  near,  it  may  be  turned  out  of  its  natural  course  and 
made  to  wash  the  dirt  away ;  and  sometimes  it  must  be  removed 
with  shovels.  "When  the  surface  of  the  stone  is  all  laid  bare,  if 
the  stone  is  found  with  regular,  vertical,  and  horizontal  seams,  at 
the  distance  of  a  foot  or  so,  it  will  be  very  easy  to  get  them  out. 
It  requires  the  exercise  of  a  little  judgment  and  skill  to  quarry 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  159 

stone,  or  the  operator  will  make  bad  work  by  damaging  many 
good  blocks  of  stone,  that  might,  by  a  skillful  workman,  be  taken 
out  of  the  quarry  of  a  very  desirable  size  and  form.  Stone  are 
not  very  elastic,  and  the  operator  should  bear  in  mind  that  he 
cannot  drive  in  wedges  in  the  seams  of  stone  as  carelessly  as  he 
may  in  a  block  of  wood.  Stone  will  break  before  they  will  ren 
der,  or  give  but  little ;  therefore  it  will  not  answer  to  drive  in 
wedges  all  in  one  place. 

205.  A  workman  in  a  quarry  needs  a  half  score  of  wedges 
many  times.  They  should  be  about  four  or  five  inches  long,  one 
inch  and  a  half  wide,  and  about  three-eighths  of  an  inch  thick, 
of  the  very  best  iron,  and  steel-pointed.  These  should  be  driven 
in  the  seams  not  more  than  one  foot  apart,  and  all  driven  at  one 
time,  by  striking  them  alternately  one  or  two  blows  at  a  time. 
This  will  open  a  seam  uniformly,  without  danger  of  breaking  a 
stone.  But  if  a  wedge  be  driven  in  at  a  corner,  for  example, 
unless  the  stratum  is  very  thick  the  corner  will  be  very  liable  to 
break  off.  "Where  the  courses  are  laid  bare,  having  vertical 
seams  from  two  to  four  or  five  feet  apart,  and  the  strata  from  four 
to  twelve  inches  thick,  the  surface  should  be  marked  off  in  a 
square  form,  of  the  size  of  which  it  is  desirable  to  have  the  stone, 
and  then  a  row  of  holes  may  be  drilled  eight  or  ten  inches  apart 
where  the  stone  is  to  be  broken,  and  iron  wedges  driven  into 
these  holes  until  the  stone  separates.  Two  pieces  of  half  round 
iron  should  be  placed  in  each  hole,  leaving  a  space  in  the  middle 
of  each  hole  for  a  flat  wedge  to  enter  between  the  two  pieces  of 
half  round  iron.  When  the  strata  are  not  very  thick,  and  the 
stone  are  such  as  may  be  broken  with  fire,  the  strata  may  be 
broken  by  fire  instead  of  drilling  holes  and  separating  with  wedges. 
It  is  usually  best  to  drive  most  of  the  wedges  at  the  end  in  lifting 
a  stratum  of  rather  thin  stone,  although  some  wedges  may  be 
driven  on  the  side ;  but  if  the  wedges  should  be  driven  mostly 
on  one  side,  a  stone  will  seldom  break  square  across  the  stratum. 
When  the  strata  are  rather  thin,  by  cutting  a  groove  with  a  cold- 
chisel  about  an  inch  deep  where  it  is  desirable  to  break  the  stra 
tum,  if  the  wedges  be  driven  in  the  side  opposite  the  groove, 
7* 


160  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

the  stratum  will  break  very  true  where  the  groove  has  been 
cut. 

TOOLS     FOB   HANDLING   STONE. 

206.  In  addition  to  a  good  crowbar  or  two,  and  hand-spikes, 
a  good  canthook,  represented  by  Fig.  71,  is  a  very  useful  and 
convenient  implement  for  handling  bowlders 
which  two  or  three  men  could  not  handle 
with  crowbars  without  much  difficulty.     But 
with  a  good  canthook  one  man  can  roll  along 
a  bowlder  of  six  or  eight  hundred  pounds 
.  with  ease,  and  by  using  a  couple  of  plank  he 
8  will  be  able  to  load  such  a  stone  on  a  sleigh 
dj  I  or  stone-boat  in  a  very  few  minutes. 

«  207.  The  handle  of  the  canthook  is  al 
most  always  made  too  large  and  clumsy.  It 
should  be  about  six  feet  in  length,  and  of  a 
uniform  taper  from  the  mortise  where  the 
hook  enters  it  to  the  end,  which  end  need 
not  be  larger  than  the  end  of  a  fork  handle. 
The  other  end  may  be  tapered  off,  as  shown  in  the  cut.  At  the 
mortise  it  should  be  about  two  by  three  inches  square,  or  even 
smaller  if  the  timber  be  of  the  best  quality,  otherwise  it  must  be 
larger.  The  hook  should  be  made  of  the  best  iron,  about  an  inch 
and  a  half  wide  and  three  eighths  of  an  inch  thick,  with  half-inch 
holes  every  two  inches,  and  from  twenty  to  thirty  inches  long, 
according  to  the  size  of  stone  or  logs  to  be  rolled  with  it.  At 
the  hook  end  it  must  be  made  much  heavier  and  stronger  than 
the  other  part  of  it.  The  curvature  of  the  hook  is  a  very  im 
portant  feature  of  it.  If  it  is  curved  but  little  it  will  hook  on  a  large 
stone  or  log  very  readily,  and  will  not  hook  on  a  small  one.  But 
if  the  curvature  of  it  will  admit  of  its  hooking  to  a  small  stone,  it 
will  usually  hook  on  a  larger  one,  except  it  is  very  large.  The 
bolt  which  holds  the  hook  should  work  easily  in  and  out,  and  be 
fastened  with  a  leather  key. 

208.     The  grapple  hook,  Fig.  72,  is  used  for  hooking  on  to 
large  stone  with  a  team,  in  rolling  them  over  and  over,  or  in  lift- 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


161 


ing  one  end  of  a  stone,  so  that  a  chain  can  be  passed  around  it, 
when  one  end  of  it  is  in  the  ground.  It  is  very  convenient  in  a 
quarry,  for  hitching  a  team  to  a  corner  of  a  large  stone,  when  it 

FIG.  72.  FIG.  73. 


A  GRAPPLE  HOOK  IIITCHKD  TO  A  LAUGE 
BOWLDER. 


A  WINDLASS  FOE  LOADING  STONE  ON  A 
WAGON. 


is  desirable  to  slide  it  a  little.  "With  three  or  four  such  hooks,  a 
stone  may  be  slung  up,  when  it  would  be  very  inconvenient  get 
ting  a  chain  round  it. 

209.  The  grapple  hook  should  be  made  of  about  the  same 
curvature  as  the  iron  part  of  the  canthook,  Fig.  71,  with  a  link 
and  ring  in  one  end,  as  shown   in  Fig.  72,  for  the  purpose  of 
hitching  a  chain  to  when  in  use.     It  should  be  made  from  eight 
een  to  twenty-four  inches  long,  of  the  best  iron,  with  the  point  of 
the  hook  laid  with  steel.     The  hook  should  be  large  enough  to 
retain  its  shape  without  bending,  even  when  two  teams  may  be 
hitched  to  it.     At  the  hook- end,  where  it  is  exposed  to  the  great 
est  strain,  it  should  be  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  thick  and 
two  inches  wide.     The  other  parts  need  not  be  half  as  heavy 
as  this. 

210.  Fig.   73  shows  a  portion  of  a  platform  to  a  wagon  or 
sleigh,  with  a  windlass  attached  to  the  hind  end,  for  the  pur 
pose    of  loading    stone  which  would  weigh  from    one    hundred 
to  three  or  four  hundred  pounds.     One  man    can  roll  a  stone, 
which  three    or  four  men    cannot    lift,   on  the  wagon ;  and  by 
having  a  windlass    on   the  hind    end    of   the  wagon,   one  man 
can   raise    a   large    stone    on   the  wagon   in    one  minute?  with 
ease.     In  loading  a  stone,  the  fore  end  of  tlje  platform  should 


162 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


be  fastened  down,  so  that  it  cannot  tip  up  without  raising  the 
forward  wheels  of  the  wagon.  Hitch  the  chain  around  the 
stone,  and  raise  it  as  high  as  the  top  of  the  platform,  and  then 
let  a  board  be  slid  under  the  stone,  with  the  two  ends  resting 
on  the  sills  of  the  platform.  The  stone  can  then  be  rolled 
forward  on  the  platform,  and  another  raised  in  the  same  manner. 

211.  The  windlass  should  be  about  three  inches  in  diameter, 
of  good  timber,  and  about  thirty  inches  above  the  sills  of  the 
platform.       The    sticks  for   turning  the  windlass    should  be  at 
least   four    feet   in   length,  and  if   the    timber    be  very  tough, 
one  inch  in  diameter    is   large    enough  for    ordinary  purposes. 
The    ends  of  the    sills   should    extend   beyond    the    cross-piece 
about  eighteen  inches,  as  shown  by  the  figure.     A  small  chain 
is  best,  although  a  rope  would    subserve    a  good    purpose,  for 
winding  up  on  the  windlass. 

212.  For  loading  stone  on  a  wagon,  which  will  weigh  from 
four   hundred    pounds  to  a  ton    or    more,  a  set  of  sheers  and 
tackles,  Fig.  74,  is  about  as  convenient  and  efficient  as  anything 

FIG.   74. 


GIX    FOR    LOADING   LOGS   AND   CTONE. 


in  the  line  of  cheap  implements  which  can  be  made  use  of. 
Almost  every  farmer  often  sees  the  need  of  such  an  apparatus 
for  many  purposes  besides  loading  stone.  It  hardly  needs  a 
description ;  but,  to  aid  the  beginner,  we  will  give  the  chief 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL.  163 

dimensions.  The  sheers  should  be  not  less  than  sixteen  feet  in 
length,  of  light  timber,  and  should  be  larger  in  the  middle  of  the 
sticks  than  at  the  ends,  to  keep  them  from  bending.  The  single 
sheer,  or  the  one  to  which  a  windlass  is  attached,  for  winding  up 
the  slack  rope,  should  be,  in  the  middle,  of  a  size  equivalent  to  a 
scantling  three  by  four  inches  square.  The  other  two  sheers  may 
be  two  and  a  half  by  three  inches  in  the  middle,  and  tapering  to 
each  end  to  two  inches  square,  in  order  to  render  them  as  light 
as  possible.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  single  sheer  an  iron  rod, 
about  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  twenty  inches 
long,  should  be  fastened,  by  passing  through  it,  for  holding  the 
other  two  sheers,  which  should  have  an  inch  and  a  quarter  hole 
in  their  upper  ends  for  receiving  the  ends  of  this  rod  in  the  sin 
gle  sheer.  The  tackles  may  be  made  by  almost  any  mechanic, 
with  cast-iron  sheaves.  A  rope  an  inch  in  diameter  is  large 
enough  to  hold  one  ton  and  a  half,  when  the  rope  is  three- 
double,  or  three  sheaves  in  the  upper  block  of  pulleys. 

213.  Such  an  apparatus  is  very  convenient  in  hoisting  large 
stone  on  to  any  part  of  a  stone  wall,  arid  especially  in  placing 
large  stone  on  the  top  of  a  wall.  It  may  be  used  also  very  ad 
vantageously  in  loading  logs  and  timber,  and  such  like,  on  a 
wagon.  In  extensive  quarries  a  crane  will  be  found  to  be  more 
efficient  and  convenient  than  almost  any  other  apparatus,  for 
hoisting  the  stone  from  their  bed  on  a  wagon  or  other  vehicle. 
As  cranes  may  be  seen  in  every  locality  where  stone  quarries 
abound,  we  do  not  think  it  advisable  to  give,  in  this  place,  a  cut 
and  description  of  one.  "When  the  farmer  has  a  quarry  of  any  kind 
of  stone,  if  he  has  not  in  his  employ  a  man  who  has  a  good  share 
of  practical  experience  in  quarrying  stone,  he  will  find  it  very 
much  to  his  interest  and  convenience  to  visit  some  extensive 
quarry,  and  spend  a  day  or  so  in  witnessing  the  manipulations  of 
the  workmen,  and  in  making  inquiries  of  the  foreman  and  pro 
prietor  in  relation  to  the  business,  and  in  examining  the  tools 
used  in  quarrying.  A  day  or  two  spent  in  this  manner  may  be 
worth  hundreds  of  dollars  to  an  individual,  in  enabling  him  to 
start  in  his  operations  in  the  most  efficient  manner.  Scores  of 


164 

men  have  been  in  the  possession  of  excellent  quarries,  but  who, 
for  the  want  of  getting  started  right  in  the  quarry,  and  not  know 
ing  exactly  what  they  really  needed,  have  blundered  along  at  a 
very  great  useless  expense  and  inconvenience  for  a  long  time,  or 
many  times  have  entirely  abandoned  the  operation  as  a  non-pay 
ing  business,  when  a  day  or  two  spent  in  examining  the  machin 
ery,  &c.,  of  an  extensive  quarry  would  have  enabled  them  to 
start  right,  and  progress  with  all  desirable  rapidity  and  efficiency. 


BREAKING   STONE    WITH    FIRE. 

214.  Many  kinds  of  stone  may  be  broken  very  readily  and 
very  expeditiously  with  fire.  Large  bowlders,  when  a  fire  is 
built  on  them,  will,  in  a  short  time,  separate  into  small  pieces ; 
and  many  times  these  pieces  will  have  straight  edges  and  smooth 
and  true  faces,  and  may  be  used  in  a  foundation  for  a  building,  or 
in  stone  fence,  with  no  little  economy.  When  a  large  bowlder 
is  mostly  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  let  the  earth  be  thrown 
away  from  it  all  around  as  low  as  the  middle  of  it,  and  then  pile 
on  a  lot  of  old  rails  or  pieces  of  stumps,  or  even  good  wood,  and 
it  will  soon  crack  into  pieces  so  that  they  may  be  pried  out  with 
the  crowbar.  Should  it  not  be  broken  clear  to  the  bottom,  apply 
the  fire  again  after  the  broken  pieces  have  been  removed.  Some 
times,  after  the  fire  has  been  burning  for  a  few  minutes,  the  top 
of  the  bowlder  will  be  covered  with  large  scales  of  stone,  which 
should  be  immediately  removed,  in  order  to  allow  the  fire  to  come 
in  contact  with  the  unbroken  stone.  Some  kinds  of  stone  that 
are  taken  from  the  quarry  may  be  broken  very  straight  and  true 
into  almost  any  desired  shape.  In  many  quarries  stone  are  often 
taken  out  ten  or  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  from  six  to  ten  or 
twelve  inches  in  thickness,  and  sometimes  from  one  foot  to  three 
feet  in  width,  with  straight  edges  and  true  and  smooth  sides. 
Now,  in  order  to  break  them  in  pieces  of  a  desirable  size,  let  lit 
tle  fires  be  made  with  hard,  dry  wood,  across  the  stone  where  it 
is  desirable  to  break  it,  and  in  a  few  minutes  a  seam  will  be 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  165 

formed  so  that  a  crowbar  will  easily  separate  them.  "We  have 
often  broken  large  flat  stone,  very  true  and  straight,  with  fire,  by 
laying  a  scantling  about  foiir  inches  wide  on  the  place  where  it  is 
to  be  broken,  and  then  shovelling  dirt  on  both  sides  of  the  scant 
ling,  about  an  inch  in  depth.  Take  up  the  scantling,  and  make  a 
fire  with  short  pieces  of  dry  wood,  split  very  fine,  the  whole  length 
of  the  stone  where  it  is  to  be  broken.  Small  hard  wood  chips 
are  the  most  convenient  article  to  make  a  fire  with  in  such  a  place. 
The  dirt  is  to  prevent  the  fire  from  heating  the  stone  on  each  side 
of  the  line  where  it  is  desirable  to  have  it  broken.  If  the 
fire  burns  uniformly  entirely  across  the  stone,  it  will  require  but 
ten  or  fifteen  minutes  before  it  will  crack,  when  the  fire  should 
be  immediately  removed  lest  it  should  injure  the  edges  of  the 
stone.  Small  thin  stone  may  be  broken  very  readily  by  heating 
a  large  bar  of  iron  and  laying  it  on  the  stone  where  it  is  to  be 
broken. 

215.  Some  kinds  of  stone  will  not  break  at  all  with  fire,  and 
some  kinds  will  crumble  to  pieces  before  they  will  break  in  two 
parts.  The  beginner  can  soon  learn,  by  a  little  observation  and 
experience,  which  kinds  may  or  may  not  be  broken  with  fire. 


SECTION    6. FENCE    POSTS. 

216.  There  are  several  considerations  of  first  importance   in 
making  fence  posts,  which  should  not  be  overlooked.     One  is  the 
length  of  posts.     Posts  are  cut,  many  times,  nearly  one  foot  longer 
than  is  necessary.     If  all  the  logs  of  a  tree  be  cut  one  foot  longer 
than  necessary,  there  will  be  waste   of  timber  enough  in  one 
tree,  many  times,  to  make  a  cut  for  posts.     The  farmer  should  cal 
culate  how  deep  he  intends  to  set  the  posts,  and  how  long  they 
are  to  be  above  ground,  and  then  cut  them  but  three  or  four 
inches  longer  than  that  length. 

217.  Another  thing   is    the   size  of  posts.     When  timber  is 
good  and  well-seasoned,  a  large  post  will  always  outlast  a  small 
one ;  therefore,  it   is    not    a   bad  fault,  so  far   as  durability  is 


166  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

concerned,  to  have  posts  large ;  but,  on  the  score  of  economy, 
it  is  not  best  to  have  them  very  large.  It  is  much  better  to 
have  them  too  large  than  too  small.  A  post  six  inches  square 
is  much  better,  and  will  last  longer,  than  one  four  inches  square  ; 
but  it  would  not  be  an  economical  manner  of  working  up  tim 
ber  to  make  ordinary  posts  six  inches  square.  For  ordinary 
fence,  sawed  fence  posts  may  be  about  four  inches  square  at 
the  lower  ends,  and  two  by  four  inches  at  the  upper  ends  ; 
but  some  prefer  to  have  them  sawed  five  by  five  at  the  lower 
ends,  and  five  by  two  or  three  inches  at  the  tops.  For  a  high 
fence,  like  Fig.  39,  this  last  size  would  be  better-  than  a  size 
smaller.  In  splitting  fence  posts,  when  a  portion  of  a  log  is 
rather  large  for  two  posts,  and  too  small  for  three  posts,  it  is 
much  better  to  make  them  a  little  too  large  than  too  small. 
It  is  much  more  economical  to  have  posts  sawed  out  than  to 
split  and  hew  them,  when  a  saw-mill  is  not  more  than  two  or 
three  miles  distant,  providing  the  timber  is  large.  It  is  not 
practicable  to  split  as  many  posts  out  of  a  log,  even  when  it 
splits  well,  as  can  be  sawed  from  the  same  amount  of  timber. 
By  sawing  the  lower  ends  large,  and  the  upper  ends  proportion 
ally  smaller,  there  is  always  a  saving  of  timber,  and  the  posts  are 
of  a  much  better  form.  If  timber  is  very  small,  and  will  split 
good,  it  might  be  best  to  split  them  out,  instead  of  sawing  them. 
Sometimes,  when  small  timber  is  winding,  four  posts,  worth  fifty 
cents  or  more,  might  be  sawed  out  of  a  small  log  which  could  not 
be  split  into  posts,  and  which,  if  not  sawed,  would  make  only  one 
post. 

218.  Another  thing,  which  seems  almost  superfluous  to  men 
tion,  is,  the  kind  of  timber  for  posts.  Red  cedar  and  mulberry 
are,  perhaps,  more  durable  than  almost  any  other  kinds  of  timber ; 
yellow  locust,  oak  of  different  kinds,  butternut,  red  elm,  red  beech, 
and  many  other  kinds  not  mentioned,  will  make  good  posts.  The 
butt-ends  of  trees,  when  the  trees  are  sound  and  healthy,  are 
usually  more  durable  than  cuts  near  the  tops  of  the  trees.  It  is 
always  very  poor  economy  to  make  fence  posts,  and  especially 
gate  posts,  of  perishable  kinds  of  timber,  such  as  sugar-maple,  or 


THE  YOUNG   FAKMERJS  MANUAL.  167 

bass-wood,  and  such  like.     All  kinds  of  posts  should  be  seasoned 
at  least  one  year  before  they  are  set  in  the  ground. 

219.  Hewing  posts. — "When  posts  have  been  split  out,  the  most 
convenient  mode  of  scoring  and  hewing  them  is,  to  lay  the  post 
to  be  hewed  on  two  large  blocks  or  logs,  and  then  drive  in  two 
stakes  or  pins,  about  six  or  seven  inches  apart,  in  one  log,  and 
let  them  extend  beyond  the  surface  of  the  log  eight  or  ten  inches, 
and  key  the  post  with  a  wedge  in  the  desired  position  between 
these  two  stakes ;  then  line  it  and  hew  it.     Some  men  prefer  hew 
ing  their  posts  after  they  have  been  set  in  the  ground,  but  the 
practice  is  not  a  good  one,  because  it  loosens  them. 

220.  Sharpening  posts. — "When  the  ends  of  posts  are  to  be 
sharpened,  if  they  are  so  large  that  a  man  cannot  hold  them 
erect  with  one  hand,  with  the  post  standing  on  a  firm  block, 
while  he  sharpens  it  with  an  axe  in  the  other  hand,  they  may  be 
fastened  with  a  wedge  in  a  gain  cut  in  a  heavy  log,  in  a  device 
similar  to  the  one  for  holding  posts  when  they  are  to  be  hewed, 
as  shown  by  Fig.  75.     It  requires  the  exercise  of  a  little  skill  to 

FIG.  75. 


ffHCUSOM 

A  POST  CLAMP  FOR  HOLDING  WHILE  SHARPENING. 

sharpen  a  post  in  a  proper  manner  for  driving  well.  The  bevel 
or  slant  should  be  of  exactly  a  given  angle  on  each  side  of  the 
post.  The  following  figures  will  give  some  correct  idea  on  the 
subject :  Fig.  76  represents  a  post  sharpened  in  the  most  proper 
manner.  A  post  sharpened  thus,  when  it  is  being  driven,  will 
go  straight  down,  if  the  point  does  not  hit  a  stone.  Figs.  77 
and  78  represent  two  posts  improperly  sharpened.  Although 
they  may  go  straight  down,  when  sharpened  like  Fig.  78,  they 


168 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


MODE  OF  SHARPENING  FENCE   POSTS. 


will  drive  very  hard,  because  they  are  too  Hunt.  When  they 
76,  77,  78,  are  sharpened  like  Fig.  77,  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  keep  them, 
when  driving  them,  in  a  perpen 
dicular  position.  Sometimes,  when 
posts  are  not  entirely  straight,  the 
sharpening  must  all  be  done  on 
two  or  three  sides  of  it  only,  as 
the  case  may  require.  Fig.  79 
will  furnish  a  very  good  idea  of 
the  most  proper  manner  of  sharp 
ening  a  crooked  post,  in  order  to 
have  it  drive  true.  The  dotted 
lines  will  show  on  which  side  the 
post  should  be  sharpened.  The  idea  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  sharpen 
ing  a  crooked  post  is,  to  work  by  a  line  drawn  from  the  centre  of 
the  top  of  the  post,  Fig.  79,  at  a  to  &,  and  then  bevel  the  end  on 
both  sides  of  this  line,  so  that  the  angle  of  the  bevelling  will  be 
nearly  the  same  on  both  sides  of  the  line  a  I.  It  will  be  per 
ceived  by  the  figure  that  the  sharpening  is  almost  all  done  on 
one  side,  at  b  ;  but  a  thin  chip  only  was  taken  from  the  other  side. 
A  workman  who  has  a  mechanical  eye,  will  sharpen  posts  with 
all  desirable  accuracy  without  a  line.  lie  will  cast  his  eye  from 
end  to  end  of  a  crooked  post,  and  at  a  glance  observe  about  how 
much  must  be  cut  off  on  each  side,  in  order  to  make  it  of  a  true 
taper,  and  then  will  snatch  up  his  axe  and  cut  it  off  while  an 
other  man  would  be  getting  ready  to  sharpen  it.  In  sharpening 
straight  posts,  a  workman  must  calculate  to  have  the  point  at  the 
centre  of  the  post,  and  to  have  the  cut  on  each  side  of  the  post 
of  a  true  taper,  from  fifteen  or  twenty  inches  from  the  end, 
according  to  the  size  of  the  post,  to  the  point,  like  Fig.  76.  If 
these  rules,  which  may  seem  trivial  to  some,  are  observed,  the 
beginner  will  soon  be  able  to  sharpen  his  posts  with  necessary  accu 
racy.  If  the  ends  of  posts  are  of  a  true  taper  from  the  points  to 
that  part  which  is  at  the  surface  of  the  ground,  they  will  enter 
the  ground  much  easier ;  but  they  will  not  stand  as  well  as 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  169 

those  which  have  a  short  taper.  Pointed  posts  are  far  more 
liable  to  be  lifted  out  by  the  frost  than  those  which  are  of  full 
size  clear  to  the  end,  and  we  would  not  recommend  the  practice 
of  pointing  fence  posts ;  but  as  farmers  will  persist  in  doing  it, 
we  have  thought  proper  to  give  some  practical  hints  on  the  sub 
ject,  to  aid  the  inexperienced  workmen  in  doing  the  job  in  a 
workmanlike  manner.  Let  the  farmer  avoid  sharpening  posts 
like  Fig.  77. 

JENKINS'  PATENT  CAST-IRON  POST. 

221.  Fig.  80  represents  a  cast-iron  fence  post  for  board  fence ; 
but  the  pattern  for  it  may  be  made  shorter,  with  holes  in  it  for 
receiving  the  ends  of   the  rails  for   picket  fence.     The  entire 
length  of  this  kind  of  post  is  six  feet.     The  breadth  is  three  and 
a  half  inches.      The  length  below  the  flange  or  cross-pieces  is 
eighteen  inches,  tapering  and  terminating  as  shown      jnia<  gQ^ 
in  the  figure,  in  a  barbed  or  spear-head  end.     The 

flange  is  two  inches  wide,  eighteen  inches  long, 
with  a  mortise  in  the  middle  of  it,  through  which 
the  post  is  inserted, — the  flange  being  put  over  the 
top  of  the  post,  and  resting  on  little  shoulders  or 
projections,  eighteen  inches  from  the  lower  end. 
The  main  part  of  the  post,  through  which  the  mor 
tises  are  made,  is  one-fourth  of  an  inch  thick,  with 
a  flange  around  the  margin,  from  half  an  inch  to 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  wide,  to  give  strength  to 
the  posts.  The  mortises  for  the  boards  are  two 
inches  wide,  and  of  any  desirable  length. 

222.  The  object  of  the  flange  or  cross-piece  is, 
to  aid  in  keeping  the  fence   erect,  and  to  prevent 
the  frost  heaving  it.     Holes  are  made  with  a  crow 
bar  for  the  posts,  when  a  piece  of  hard  wood  plank 
is  thrust  through  the  lower  mortise,  and  the  posts 
are  driven  in  by  striking  on  the  edge  of  the  plank. 
Afterwards  the  cross-piece  is  put  on  ;  and  a  ridge  of       FENCE  POST. 
earth  is  thrown  up  along  the  fence  to  save  one  board,  and  to  cover 


170 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


the  cross-pieces,  and  thus  keep  the  posts  in  their  places.  The  posts 
should  receive  a  good  coating  of  pitch  and  gas  tar,  applied  hot, 
which  will  keep  them  from  rusting.  If  this  is  not  done,  in  some 


SECTION  OF   BOARD  FENCE   WITH   CAST-IROX    POSTS. 

soils  such  posts  would  corrode  or  rust  so  rapidly,  that  in  less  than 
twenty  years  the  wind  would  blow  them  over.  But  by  smear 
ing  them  they  will  last  for  ages.  • 

223.  The  weight  of  a  post  will  be  according  to  the  pattern 
and  style  of  fence.     For  ordinary  board  fence,  if  they  weigh 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  pounds  they  will  be  sufficiently  strong. 
If  a  goodly  number  were  ordered,  they  could  probably  be  ob 
tained  for  about  three  cents  per  pound  in  most  of  our  cities.     One 
such   post  is   worth  two  posts  of  the   most  durable   kinds  of 
timber. 

224.  In  making  a  board  fence  with  such  posts,  stretch  two 
lines,  one  a  few  inches  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  the 
other  near  the  tops  of  the  posts ;   and  drive  every  post  so  that 
the  top  mortise  will  exactly  coincide  with  the  line.     Now,  put  in 
the  boards,  and  smear  the  ends,  where  they  come  in  contact  with 
each  other,  with  paint  or  coal  tar.     No  nails  are  required  in 
building  such  a  fence ;    no  post  holes  are  to  be  dug ;    and  the 
posts  may  be  set  twelve  feet  or  more   apart,  and  the  ends  of  the 
boards  driven  into  the  mortises.     If  the  boards  are  not  very 
stiff,  nail  a  narrow  strip  across  all  of  them  at  the  middle  of  each 
panel.     A  fence  built  with  such  posts  in  a  workmanlike  manner, 
is  worth  all  the  portable  board  fences  in  America.     Alex.  S. 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  171 

Rowley,  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  holds  the  right  for  these  posts,  who  will 
sell  farm  or  State  rights  for  them. 


REMEDY   TO    PREVENT    POSTS   BEING   LIFTED    BY   THE   FROST. 

225.  When  posts  having  a  straight  end  of  uniform  size  are 
set  in  the  ground,  unless  they  are  set  three  or  four  feet  deep  in 
the  ground,  they  are  very  liable  to  be  lifted  out  of  the  ground  in 
a  few  years  by  the  influence  of  the  frost.  In  dry  localities,  how 
ever,  the  freezing  and  thawing  of  the  ground  has  little  or  no 
effect  on  them.  Setting  very  deep  in  the  ground  is  the  usual 
remedy  against  their  heaving  out  in  the  winter,  but  a  more  con 
venient  and  cheaper  one  is  to  bore  a  two-inch  hole  through  the  bot 
torn  of  each  post,  and  drive  in  a  hard  wood  pin,  allowing  it  to 
extend  beyond  the  surface  of  the  post  about  four  inches,  and  then 
in  setting  the  posts  place  a  stone  on  each  end  of  the  pin,  and  let 
FIG.  81.  the  dirt  be  well  rammed  down  on  the  stones. 
Another  and  better  remedy  is,  to  cut  a  notch  on 
each  side  of  the  bottom  of  the  post,  about  four 
inches  from  the  lower  end,  and  ram  the  dirt  well 
into  these  notches,  or  place  stones  in  them,  as 
shown  by  Fig.  81,  which  represents  a  post  with 
stones  placed  in  the  notches.  Posts  may  be  cut 
on  both  sides,  if  they  are  of  good  size,  so  that  in 
the  thinnest  place  they  will  be  not  more  than 
one  inch  and  a  half  thick,  without  injuring  their 
strength  or  Durability,  because  at  the  bottom  of 
a  post,  which  is  from  two  to  three  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  but  little  strength  is  neces 
sary  ;  and  at  that  depth  in  the  ground  a  post  de- 
MODE  OF  PREVENTING  Cavs  very  slowly.  It  should  be  remembered,  that 

FENCE   Peal's   BEING  i 

LIFTI:I)  «Y  THE  FROST,  posts  decay  most  at  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
When  posts  are  rather  small,  a  notch  may  be  cut  only  on  one 
sido  of  them  for  receiving  the  stone.  This  is  a  most  effectual 
remedy  for  the  heaving  of  posts  by  frost. 


172  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

DIGGING   POST    HOLES 

226.  Is  a  part  of  fence  building  which  may  be  performed  at 
"  odd  spells,"  and  may  be  done  by  the  forces  of  the  farm  which 
are  very  awkward  and  unskillful  in  everything  they  attempt  to 
perform,  providing  the  work  is   all  laid  out  for  them,  so  that  it 
will  be  barely  possible  to    do  anything  wrong.       In  the  first 
place,  set  two  stakes  and  plow  a  deep  trench,  as  stated,  if  the 
saving  of  labor  is  any  object,  and  then  stretch  a  line  four  or  six 
rods  long,  and  have  a  little  pole  as  long  as  the  distance  is  to  be 
between  the  posts,  from  centre  to  centre,  and  measure  along  the 
line,  and  stick  a  little  stake  exactly  where  the  centre  of  every 
hole  is  to  be  made.     With  the  spade  cut  a  circle  in  the  sod  or 
dirt  around  these  little  stakes,  and  throw  out  the  dirt  with  the 
spade  for  one  foot  or  so  in  depth,  if  the  earth  is  not  too  hard  to 
be  spaded  with  facility.     Let  the  digger  be  careful  not  to  work 
the  holes  so  far  on  one  side  of  the  centre  that  the  posts  cannot 
be  placed  in  range  with  each  other.     There  is  no  necessity  of 
digging  the  holes  for  ordinary  fence  posts  more  than  one  foot  in 
diameter.     If  the  ground  is  very  hard  and  dry,  it  must  be  picked 
up  with  the  crowbar  or  spud,  and  taken  out  with  the  dirt-spoon. 
If  the  ground  is  not  stony,  the  post-hole  augur  (Fig.  99)  may  be 
used  to  great  advantage,  especially  after  a  hole  is  two  feet  deep. 
In  digging  large  holes  for  gate  posts,  or  straining-posts  for  wire 
fence,  which  are  to  be  four  feet  deep,  an  expert  digger  will  sink 
such  a  hole  much  the  quickest  by  stepping  down  into  it,  and  by 
making  it  at  least  thirty  inches  in  diameter  at  the  top  and  nearly 
two  feet  at  the  bottom.     The  hole  for  fence  posts  should  be  large 
enough  to  admit  the  rammer  freely  all  round  them  when  they 
are  being  set. 

SETTING    FENCE    POSTS. 

227.  Let  the  post  be  placed  in  the  hole  so  that  it  will  almost 
touch  both  the  upper  and  lower  line,  (see  mode  of  adjusting  the 
lines,  par.  152,)  and  throw  in  a  little  dirt,  say  enough  to  fill  the  hole 
around  the  post  not  more  than  two  inches  after  it  is  well  rammed  ; 
put  in  as  much  more  and  ram  it.  and  the  post  will  stand  without 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  173 

holding  it.  Be  careful  in  ramming  not  to  move  the  post  by  ram 
ming  too  hard  on  one  side  of  it.  Be  very  particular  in  making 
the  bottoms  of  the  posts  firm.  Let  the  dirt  be  well  rammed  in 
at  the  top  of  the  holes,  by  filling  in  a  little  at  a  time ;  and  let  the 
earth  be  raised  around  each  post  a  little  above  the  level  of  the 
ground,  with  the  hardest  kind  of  dirt.  This  will  keep  the  posts 
from  becoming  loose.  When  small  stones  are  used  for  filling 
the  holes  around  the  posts,  they  should  be  placed  with  care,  and 
in  such  a  position  that,  by  being  rammed  a  little,  they  will  hold 
the  post  very  securely.  "When  there  is  water  in  post  holes,  it 
must  be  bailed  out,  as  it  is  not  practicable  to  make  a  post  stand 
firmly  when  there  is  water  in  the  hole.  Posts  are  somtimes  set 
in  grout,  which  is  made  of  good  sand  and  water-lime,  and  poured 
among  the  stones  which  are  placed  in  the  holes  around  the  posts. 
This  renders  them  very  firm,  but  the  frosts  of  winter  are  very 
liable  to  injure  it  as  deep  as  it  freezes. 

228.  Posts  are  often  set  by  driving  them  in  a  hole  made  with  a 
crowbar  ;  but  as  a  general  thing  I  never  could  like  it  as  well  as  set 
ting  them  in  holes  that  have  been  dug.     I  have  often  practised 
driving  posts  in  the  bottom  of  the  holes  after  they  have  been 
dug  two  feet  deep,  and  I  have  always  found  that  this  practise 
saves  much  digging ;    and  the  posts  are  more  solid  and  quicker 
set  than  when  the  holes  are  dug  as  deep  as  the  posts  are  to  be  set. 
By  digging  two  feet,  and  driving  one  foot  or  more,  posts  will  be 
sufficiently  deep  for  ordinary  fences. 

229.  In  driving  square  posts  a  wrench  is  very  necessary  to  keep 
them  from  turning  from  a  right  line  when  they  are  being  driven. 
For  this  purpose    an    iron  wrench,  large  enough  to  fit  on  the 
post,  may  be  used,  or  a  mortise  as  large  as  the  post  may  be  made 
in  a  piece  of  tough  plank,  or  a  gain  may  be   sawed  in  the  edge 
of   a  plank,  and  the  posts  held  in  the  desired  position  by  one 
workman    while    another  drives   them  with    a  sledge.       When 
posts  are  driven  without  any  digging,  the  workmen  are  too  apt 
to  drive  them  only  twenty  or  twenty-five  inches,  instead  of  thirty- 
live  and  forty  inches  deep,  as  they  should  be.     It  is  no  easy  job 
to  drive  a  post  three  feet  into  the  ground  in  some  localities,  while 


174  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

in  others  a  post  may  be  driven  clear  down  with  comparatively 
few  blows.  In  such  places  driving  posts  is  preferable  to  setting 
them  in  holes  which  have  been  dug. 


CHARRING    POSTS, 

230.  With  a  view  to  render  them  more  durable,  has  long  been 
commended  by  men  who  ought  to  pass  for  good  authority  on 
such  subjects ;  but  the  beginner  may  rest  assured  that  the  prac 
tice  is  by  no  means  a  good  one,  as  a  post  will  last  longer  when 
not  charred  than  when  charred ;    and  this  is  particularly  true  of 
green  timber.     I  am  fully  persuaded,  that  if  posts  of  green  tim 
ber  be  charred  it  hastens  their  decay.     Charcoal,  we  all  know,  is 
very  durable  in  the  ground,  but  posts  which  have  been  charred 
are  not  all  converted  into  charcoal.     Simply  a  small  portion  of 
the  outside,  by  being  charred,  is  rendered  more  durable.     But 
this  does  not  exclude  moisture  from  the  wood  inside  or  beneath 
the  charred  portion.     There  is  a  thin  portion  of  wood  just  be 
tween  that  which  has  been  converted  into  coal  and  the  remainder 
of  the  post  which  has  not  been  affected  by  the  fire,  which  has 
been  heated  almost  to  a  burning  point,  which  will  quickly  decay 
when  the  whole  charred  portion  will  afford  no  more  protection 
from  the  influences  of  the  weather  than  so  much  loose  charcoal 
placed  around  a  post.     Posts  are  charred  usually  around  the  part 
that  will  come,  after  they  have  been  set,  just  at  the   surface  of 
the  ground,  because  posts  always  decay  first  near  that  point ;  and 
if  that  part  could  be  rendered  as  durable  by  any  artificial  means 
as  the  other  portions  of  the  posts,  they  would  last  as  long  as  we 
could  desire.     When  posts  are  charred  they  are  almost  always 
burned  too  much.     It  is  necessary  to  form  only  a  thin  coal  on 
the  outer  surface,  which  is  just  as  efficacious  as  if  coal  an  inch 
thick  were  formed  around  the  posts. 

231.  In  order  to  place  the   matter  beyond  a  doubt,  let  two 
posts  be  taken  from  the  same  log,  and  from  the  same  portion  of 
the  log,  and  let  them  be  seasoned  for  one  year ;  and  then  let  one 
be  charred,  and  both  of  them  set  in  the  ground  where  the  soil 


175 

and  moisture  are  as  nearly  equal  as  they  can  be,  and  if  the 
charred  post  outlasts  the  uncharred  one,  the  result  will  be  in 
favor  of  charring  them. 

STEEPING   FENCE    POSTS 

232.  In  different  kinds  of  antiseptic  liquid,  for  the  purpose  of 
rendering  them  more  durable,  has  been  often  practised  with  very 
good  success.     The  process  has  been  denominated  Kyanizing  and 
Burnettizing  timber,  from  the  names  of  the  inventors.     Kyan 
used  corrosive  sublimate,  and  Burnett  used  chloride  of  zinc.     A 
tank  or  vat  is  prepared,  or  a  molasses  hogshead  will  subserve  a 
good  purpose,   and  about  one  measure  and  a  half  of  the  dry 
chloride  of  zinc  to  about  one  hundred  measures  of  water  are 
put  in  the  tank  and  well  stirred  together,  when  the  posts  are  set 
in  this  liquid,  and  allowed  to  remain  ten  or  fifteen  days,  or  until 
they  become  thoroughly  saturated  with  the  liquid.     They  should 
then  be  taken  out,  and  allowed  to  dry,  under  cover,  until  they 
are  entirely  dry.     It  is  necessary  to  saturate  only  that  part  of  the 
posts  which  is  set  in  the  ground,  and  a  few  inches  above  the  sur 
face  of  the  ground. 

233.  Dr.  Boucherie,  of  Paris,  France,  has  used  for  this  pur 
pose   about  one  pound  of  sulphate  of   copper  to  one  hundred 
pounds  of  water.     It  is  contended  that  timber  thus  treated  is 
rendered  more  firm,  and  will  endure  three  times  longer  than  if  it 
had  not  been  submitted  to  the  process  of  steeping  it  in  the  liquor 
of  an  antiseptic  character.     In  some  localities  there  are  compa 
nies  having  suitable  apparatus  for  impregnating  large  quantities 
of  wood  with   an  antiseptic  liquid,  for  bridges,  ships,  &c.,  and  it 
is  considered  to  be  a  process  which  pays  exceedingly  well. 

234.  The  practice  of  boring  a  hole  in  posts  near  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  and  filling  it  with  common  salt,  is  but  a  modification 
of  steeping.     The  salt  soon  becomes  dissolved,  and  is  absorbed 
by  the  wood,  and  thus  preserves  a  small  portion  of  the  post  for 
a  short  time.     All  these  processes  which  have   been  mentioned 
are  chemical  processes  of  preserving  wood.     There  are  mechani 
cal  modes  of  preserving  posts,  of  which  I  will  mention  but  one, 

8 


176  THE  YOUNG  FABMER'S  MANUAL. 

which  is,  smearing  the  parts  of  posts  near  the  top  of  the  ground, 
for  a  few  inches  above  the  ground  and  several  inches  below  it, 
with  melted  pitch  or  coal  tar,  or  anything  else  which  will  exclude 
the  moisture.  A  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  pitch  and  coal  tar, 
applied  hot  to  posts,  is  far  more  effectual  in  rendering  fence  posts 
durable,  in  my  own  estimation,  than  any  chemical  antiseptic 
liquor  that  has  been  used  for  that  purpose.  A  good  coat  of  such 
materials  will  protect  posts  much  longer  than  we  are  wont  to 
suppose,  until  we  have  tested  it  in  a  practical  manner. 

THE    TOP    END    OF    TIMBER    UP,    AGAINST    TOP    END    DOWN. 

235.  Almost  every  man  who  has  ever  set  fence  posts,  and 
many  who  have  never  set  a  post,  will  recommend  setting  them 
with  the  top  end  of  the  wood  in  the  ground,  affirming  that  they 
will  last  many  years  longer  than  if  the  butt  end  was  set  in  the 
ground.     But  we  have  never  seen  nor  heard  of  a  philosophical 
reason  why  they  will  last  longer  when  the  top  is  in  the  ground ; 
and  we  never  had  one  atom  of  confidence  in  the  theory,  and  we 
never  expect  to  have,  until  it  has  been  fairly  and  honestly  shown 
that  the  theory  is  a  correct  one.     It  is  a  most  palpable  absurdity 
to  affirm  that  a  post  will  last  longer  when  placed  in  a  reversed 
position  from  that  in  which  it  grew.     This  is  not  the  place  to 
show,  by  extended  argument,  that  the  theory  is  a  false  one,  but 
those  who  are  anxious  to  investigate  the  matter  may  find  an  arti 
cle  on  this  subject  from  the  pen  of  the  author,  in  the  Country 
Gentleman  for   1858,  page  323.     It  is  sufficient  to  say,  in  this 
place,  that  posts  well  seasoned  before  they  are  set  in  the  ground 
will  tell  infinitely  more  on  their  durability  than  the  position  in 
which  they  may  be  placed. 

SECTION    7. GATES. 

"  Opes  the  gate  that  hung  for  ages, 
Rusting  in  its  old  repose, 
Which,  once  swung  upon  its  hinges, 
There's  no  giant  hand  can  close."— READ'S  NEW  PASTORAL. 

236.  A  gate  closes  a  passage  or  opens  a  way  to  an  enclosure, 
and  consists,  usually,  of  a  rectangular  frame,  made  of  wood  or  of 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


177 


iron,  or  of  both  these  materials,  and  is  so  adjusted  on  hinges  or 
rollers  that  the  force  of  a  child  can  open  and  close  it  at  pleasure. 

FIG.  82. 

A 


?  It, 

] 

I 

II     II  gag*! 

a 

& 

=jb       II  ,    T  II  A 

II         II       •  II     \\ 

T 

II                           1  1      a            511                    \\ 

II            j        1  1                *    1  1                     > 

-v  i 

—  !r&4 

A   SUBSTANTIAL   FARM   GATE. 


237.  The  essential  and  very  important  parts  of  a  gate  are, 
a  heel-post  or  stile  a  (Fig.  82,  inserted  at  the  head  of  this  arti 
cle)  ;  the  head  or  latch  stile  1}  ;  the  top  bar  or  arm  c  ;  the  lower 
arm  d  ;  the  slats  or  the  filling,  which  extend  from  the  heel  stile 
to  the  head  stile  ;  the  stay  or  stays,  or  those  pieces  which  extend 
across  the  middle  of  the  gate  vertically  ;  and  the  struts,  or  those 
pieces  which  extend  diagonally  in  the  direction  from  the  bottom 
of  the  heel  stile  towards  the  top  of  the  head  stile.  Ties  extend 
from  the  upper  end  of  the  heel  stile  to  the  lower  end  of  the  head 
stile,  or  in  that  direction.  The  struts  operate  as  supports  to  the 
gate  to  keep  it  in  an  unchangeable  position  and  shape.  The 
strut  of  the  gate  operates  as  a  pillar,  and  the  force  applied  to  it 
is  a  compressive  force.  The  ties  operate  in  an  opposite  direction, 
and  sustain  the  gate  by  suspension.  Struts  are  more  effectual  in 
keeping  a  gate  in  position  and  shape  when  they  are  made  of 
wood  than  when  made  of  iron,  unless  they  are  made  of  a  bar 
heavy  enough  not  to  be  bent  by  the  weight  of  the  gate.  Ties 
are  more  frequently  made  of  wood,  in  wooden  gates,  but  large 
wire,  with  a  nut  and  screw  on  one  end,  and  a  head  on  the  other, 
makes  a  tie  which  will  keep  a  gate  in  shape  and  position  as  long 
as  the  wood  remains  sound.  Stays  are  very  important  in  a  gate ; 
and  every  gate  that  is  long  enough  to  allow  a  load  of  grain  or  of 


178  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

hay  to  pass,  should  have  not  less  than  one  stay.  The  slats  fre 
quently  pass  through  mortises  in  the  stays,  but,  as  a  general 
rule,  the  stays  are  nailed,  riveted,  or  bolted  to  the  slats. 

» 

INSTRUCTIONS  TO  AID  IN  MAKING  A  GATE. 

238.  Every  young  farmer  should  learn  to  make  his  own  gates. 
It  requires  but  little  mechanical  skill  to  make  one,  and  it  will 
not  be  any  disadvantage  to  a  man  to  exercise  his  mechanical  fac 
ulties  in  using  tools  a  little,  even  if  he  is  abundantly  able  to  hire 
every  such  job  performed.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  there 
are  a  few  men  in  the  world  who  always  make  a  complete  botch 
of  every  job  they  attempt  to  do,  and  the  true  reason  is,  they  lack 
the  exercise  of  energy  and  perseverance.  If  a  man  will  go  to 
work  with  a  determination  to  succeed  in  performing  a  job  well, 
he  seldom  fails,  after  a  few  trials.  There  are  thousands  of  young 
farmers  who  could,  with  the  instructions  we  shall  give  in  this 
place,  make  gates  for  all  their  fields,  and  they  need  only  occupy 
the  hours  which  they  squander  in  idleness.  Come  on,  then, 
my  good  friends,  and  make  a  gate,  and  hang  it  in  the  place  of 
those  bars  which  you  have  taken  out  and  put  in  a  hundred  and 
one  times  during  the  busy  season,  and  see  if  you  do  not  detect  a 
smile  on  your  countenance  every  time  you  go  through  it ;  and 
listen,  and  you  will,  doubtless,  hear  the  proprietor  soliloquizing 
thus :  "  This  is  truly  more  convenient  than  those  old  bars.  I 
wonder  I  did  not  have  one  years  ago.  I  shall  soon  save  time 
and  strength  enough  to  make  a  gate  ;  and,  more  than  this,  Eddy 
can  open  and  shut  it,  and  turn  away  the  cows,  and  bring  them 
up."  Don't  be  disheartened  because  you  cannot  make  one  quite 
so  neatly  and  quickly  as  I  can.  I  can  make  a  gate  like  any  one 
of  the  cuts  given  here,  and  plane  it,  paint  and  hang  it  in  a  day,  and 
dig  the  holes  for  the  posts ;  and  can  make  six  such  gates  in  a 
week,  in  a  workmanlike  manner,  and  hang  them,  too, — and  I 
never  had  one  single  word  of  instruction  about  any  part  of  the 
business.  If  you  will  make  as  good  a  one  in  two  days,  we  will 
give  you  a  meed  of  praise,  of  "well  done." 

239.  In  the   first  place,  have   a  log  of  good  oak  timber  for 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  179 

gates,  like  Fig.  82,  sawed  into  stuff,  a  part  three  by  six  inches 
square,  for  the  heel  or  hinge  stiles,  and  a  part  into  slats,  one  by 
three,  and  a  part  into  upper  arms,  c,  three  by  six  at  one  end,  and 
three  by  three  at  the  other  end,  and  have  the  sawyer  saw  the 
upper  a'rms  at  the  mill  like  the  arm  in  Fig.  82,  as  far  as  the 
jog  in  it.  At  the  jog  in  the  arm  it  should  be  about  three 
by  four  inches.  The  piece  that  is  taken  off  will  make  a  good 
head  or  latch  stile.  As  soon  as  the  timber  is  sawed  out,  let 
it  be  stuck  up,  very  straightly,  under  shelter,  where  it  can  sea 
son  not  less  than  one  year.  If  any  of  the  pieces  are  sprung 
after  being  sawed,  if  the  .pile  is  stuck  up  straight  put  a  lot  of 
stones  or  timber  on  the  pile  to  bring  all  the  pieces  down  straight. 
240.  The  next  thing  will  be,  to  have  a  few  tools  in  order  to 
work  with.  The  planes  must  be  sharpened  after  they  have  been 
ground,  on  an  oil-stone,  which  will  give  the  irons  a  fine,  keen 
edge  (see  EDGE  TOOLS).  Let  the  chisels  be  well  sharpened,  for 
it  is  impossible  to  make  a  good  mortise  with  dull  chisels.  Let 
the  hand-saw  be  well  filed  and  set.  Saw  off  a  piece  of  scantling 
for  the  hinge  stile,  as  long  as  desirable,  and  plane  off  the  smooth 
est  and  truest  side  of  it,  and  mark  it  with  a  pencil  as  the  face 
side.  It  is  very  important  to  have  the  face  side  not  only  straight, 
but  true,  i.  e.,  not  winding.  Fig.  83  represents  a  hinge  stile  laid 
out  ready  for  mortising;  a  is  the  face  side  and  b  the  FIQ  83. 
work  side.  If  the  face  side  of  the  stile  should  be  a 
little  winding,  it  may  be  the  means  of  making  the  whole 
gate  winding.  Therefore,  to  ascertain  whether  the 
face  is  winding,  lay  it  on  the  bench  face  side  up,  and 
lay  on  the  square  at  one  end  and  the  jointer  planet 
at  the  other  end,  and  look  over  the  edge  of  the  square 
to  the  jointer;  and  if  the  edges  of  the  square  and 
plane  coincide  with  each  other,  the  face  is  true.  If 
the  face  is  not  true,  the  mortises  will  not  be  true. 
Apply  the  try-square,  and  see  if  the  work  side  is  at  a 
right  angle  with  the  face.  Plane  this  side  straight 
and  true,  and  mark  it  (see  How  TO  PLANE).  Now, 
with  the  rule  and  scratch-awl,  prick  off  the  spaces 


180  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

for  the  mortises  (see  Fig.  82),  and  then,  with  the  try-square 
and  scratch-awl,  make  marks  across  the  work  side,  I,  as  in 
the  figure.  Place  the  square  against  the  work  side  always,  not 
against  the  side  opposite  the  work  side,  and  make  the  marks  across 
the  face  side  of  stile,  as  in  the  figure.  Then,  from  these  marks, 
with  the  square  against  the  face  side,  draw  the  marks  on  the 
side  opposite  the  work  side.  Have  two  points  in  the  gauge 
just  one  inch  apart.  (I  would  not  recommend  to  purchase  a 
mortise  gauge,  for  they  cost  too  much.  A  common  gauge, 
costing  fifteen  or  twenty  cents,  with  two  steel  points  for  mark 
ing,  will  answer  a  good  purpose.)  Run  the  gauge  along  against 
the  face  side,  and  mark  the  sides  of  the  mortises,  both  on  the  work 
side  and  on  the  side  opposite  to  the  work  side.  Lay  the  stile  on 
two  benches  as  high  as  a  man's  knees,  and  have  it  lay  level.  One 
cannot  work  as  well  when  a  stick  does  not  lie  level.  Bore  the 
mortises  half  through  from  each  side,  and  dress  the  sides  of  the 
mortise  to  the  mark.  Or  the  stiles  may  be  bored  with  the  boring 
machine  (Fig.  122).  Be  careful  and  not  break  the  wood  over 
the  mark.  With  mallet  and  corner  chisel,  head  down  the  ends. 
If  the  farmer  has  no  corner  chisel,  let  him  procure  one,  for  it  is 
worth  a  score  of  straight  chisels  for  making  mortises.  See  that 
the  mortises  are  true  clear  through  the  stile.  If  they  should  be  a 
little  winding,  and  if  the  tenon  is  made  to  fit  tightly,  the  stile  will 
most  certainly  split  when  the  gate  is  put  together.  Now  plane 
out  the  latch  stile,  and  lay  it  by  the  side  of  the  other  stile ;  and 
lay  out  the  mortises,  and  see  if  they  correspond  with  each  other. 
After  the  mortises  are  made,  bore  the  holes  for  the  draw-pins 
in  the  stiles.  Half-inch  or  five-eighths  are  sufficiently  large. 
Dress  out  the  arm  of  the  gate,  having  a  face  side  and  a  work 
side.  Let  the  face  side  on  the  arm  be  on  the  face  side  of  the 
stile,  and  the  work  side  of  the  arm  upwards.  Lay  out  the  tenons 
with  the  gauge,  and  make  them  a  sixteenth  of  an  inch  wider 
than  the  length  of  the  mortise,  so  that  they  will  be  tight  when 
driven  in.  If  the  tenons  are  a  trifle  too  thick,  they  will  split  the 
stile.  Make  the  tenons  on  the  slats,  and  have  a  little  shoulder 


181 

on  one  edge  at  each  end.  See  that  the  tenons  on  the  slats  are 
not  too  thick,  but  have  them  a  sixteenth  of  an  inch  wider  than 
the  mortise.  Drive  stiles  and  slats  firmly  together,  and  mark 
the  tenons  in  the  holes  of  the  stiles  with  the  bit.  Drive  the 
stiles  partly  off,  and  bore  the  holes  in  the  tenon*  about  a  six 
teenth  of  an  inch  nearer  the  shoulders  than  they  are  in  the 
stile.  Give  all  the  tenons  a  good  painting,  or  smear  them 
with  coal  tar,  and  drive  them  together  and  pin  them,  painting 
the  pins  when  they  are  driven  in.  A  gate  usually  decays  first 
in  the  joints,  and  if  they  be  well  painted,  and  the  draw  pins, 
which  should  be  made  of  oak  or  yellow  locust,  well  painted 
when  they  are  driven  in,  a  gate  will  last  forty  years.  Put  on 
the  stays  by  cutting  a  gain  on  one  side  of  the  arm,  about  half 
an  inch  deep,  and  halve  the  ends  of  the  stays,  and  paint  the 
joints,  and  fasten  them  with  carriage-bolts.  If  it  is  thought  best, 
lay  out  the  mortises  for  the  slats  in  the  stiles  half  an  inch  on 
one  side  of  the  centre,  and  .then  make  mortises  in  the  under  side  of 
the  arm  two  inches  deep  for  the  stays.  Put  small  carriage-bolts 
through  the  lower  ends  of  the  stays  and  bottom  slat.  A  wrought 
nail  will  answer  through  the  other  slats  and  stays.  Let  in  the 
strut  in  the  hinge  stile  and  upper  arm,  by  making  a  gain  half  an 
inch  deep.  Make  the  strut  first,  and  then  mark  off  the  gains, 
and  have  it  fit  tightly.  If  the  upper  hinge  is  not  bolted  to  the 
arm,  as  in  Fig.  82,  put  not  less  than  three  draw-pins  through 
the  tenon  of  the  upper  arm,  because  there  is  great  strain  on  this 
arm,  which  tends  to  draw  the  tenon  out,  while  the  strain  on  the 
lower  arm  or  slats  is  inward.  I  have  mentioned  the  most  impor 
tant  considerations  in  making  a  gate.  Space  will  not  allow  me 
to  give  all  the  minutiae. 

HANGING    GATES. 

241.  The  first  step  in  hanging  a  gate  of  any  kind  is,  to  decide 
how  it  is  desired  to  have  it  hung.  One  must  decide  whether  he 
will  have  it  hung  so  as  to  open  both  ways,  or  but  one  way  only, 
and  whether  it  is  to  be  so  hung  that  it  will  remain  at  rest  at  any 
point  which  it  may  pass  in  opening  it ;  or  whether  it  shall  be  so 


182 


THE   YOUNG   FAKMEK'S  MANUAL. 


adjusted  on  its  hinges  that  it  will  shut  of  its  own  accord  when 
it  has  been  opened  at  any  angle,  in  one-fourth  of  a  circle.  Gates 
may  be  so  hung  that  they  will  immediately  open  when  unlatched, 
and  swing  back  to  a  right  angle ;  or  they  may  be  hung  so  as  to 
shut  themselves  when  opened  at  a  right  angle.  Many  farmers 
seem  to  think  it  very  important  that  a  gate  should  be  hung  so  as 
to  shut  of  its  own  accord ;  while  others  prefer  to  have  it  hung  so 
as  to  swing  open  when  unlatched,  and  remain  open ;  and  others 
choose  to  have  a  gate  hung  on  an  even  balance.  Hanging  a  gate 
according  to  one's  fancy  may  sometimes  not  be  practicable,  on 

FIG.  84. 


STYLE  OF   GATE  HINGES  CALLED  HOOKS  AND  STRAPS. 

account  of  the  kind  of  hinges.  "With  hooks  and  straps,  like 
Fig.  84,  gates  may  be  hung  so  as  to  open  or  shut  of  their  own 
accord,  or  to  remain  at  rest  when  opened 
wide  or  opened  but  little.  But  with  such 
hinges  they  cannot  be  opened  both  ways. 
With  hooks  and  eyes,  like  Fig.  85,  they 
may  be  hung  to  open  both  ways,  and  at  the 
same  time  they  may  be  hung  so  as  to  be 
self-opening  or  self-closing.  The  most  proper 
and  expeditious  manner  of  drawing  out  a 
gate  hinge  from  a  post  is,  to  bore  a  hole 
close  to  the  hinge,  above  or  below  it,  a  little 
larger  than  the  hinge,  and  then  with  a  cold- 
chisel  crowd  it  down  or  up  into  the  hole 
bored.  A  large  nail  or  spike  may  be  taken 
out  in  the  same  manner. 

242.  We  will  now   show  how  the  farmer  may  hang  his  gates, 
no  matter  what  may  be  the  style  of  hinges,  so  as  to  suit  his  wishes. 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  183 

And  should  one  mode  of  hanging  them  not  seem  to  coincide  with 
the  fancy  of  his  fastidious  neighbor,  we  will  lay  down  rules  which 
will  aid  him  in  hanging  his  gates  to  his  mind.  If  Mr.  A.  wants 
his  gates  to  swing  open  as  soon  as  unlatched,  exposing  his  crops, 
or  offering  an  opportunity  to  cattle  to  leave  their  enclosure  and 
run  away,  or  to  enter  on  forbidden  ground,  will  he  allow  me  the 
prerogative  to  hang  my  gates  so  that  they  will  close  of  themselves, 
rather  than  swing  open  when  unlatched.  Gates  are  often  left 
open  by  children  ;  and  indolent  interlopers,  wandering  about  the 
fields,  are  frequently  too  lazy  to  shut  a  gate.  Therefore,  if  a 
gate  should,  by  any  means,  get  unlatched,  if  it  is  hung  so  as  to 
shut  itself,  it  may  be  the  means  of  saving  much  damage  to  a  crop, 
or  the  running  away  of  animals.  Vicious  cattle  and  horses  are 
often  rubbing  and  hooking  about  gates,  and  if  they  happen  to  un 
latch  them  and  they  immediately  swing  open,  they  are  more  in 
clined  to  try  their  skill  again  in  opening  them.  But  if  a  gate  is 
hung  on  an  even  balance,  or  so  as  to  shut  itself,  they  are  obliged 
to  learn,  not  only  to  unlatch  a  gate,  but  to  push  it  open, 
before  they  can  pass  through.  Now,  if  one  unruly  animal  has 
succeeded  in  getting  through  the  gate,  if  the  gate  closes  after 
him,  the  others  must  necessarily  learn  the  tricks  of  their  leader 
before  they  can  follow  him. 

243.  It  is  important  that  the  farmer  should  understand  the 
principle  of  hanging  gates  so  as  to  make  them  swing  any  way  he 
may  desire,  or  have  them  remain  at  rest,  which  is  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  adjusting  the  centre  of  gravity  in  the  gate.  The 
centre  of  the  turning  points  of  the  hinges,  i.  e.,  the  centre  of  the 
hooks  and  the  centre  of  the  eyes,  are  the  two  centres  of  motion. 
The  whole  gate,  in  swinging,  is  supported  by  and  revolves  around 
these  two  points.  If,  now,  the  higher  point  of  the  centre  of  mo 
tion  is  perpendicularly  above  the  lower  centre  of  motion,  a  gate 
will  be  hung  on  an  even  balance,  and  will  remain  in  any  part  of 
the  circle  which  it  describes,  in  opening  and  closing.  It  is  no 
difficult  job  for  a  skillful  workman  to  set  the  posts  for  a  gate  by 
the  square  rule,  and  attach  the  hinges,  doing  everything  by  meas 
uring,  so  as  to  have  a  gate  -swing  as  he  may  desire.  But  the 
8* 


184  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

young  farmer  must  first  understand  the  "  cut  and  try  "  mode  of 
hanging  a  gate,  which  is  the  most  practicable,  and  most  generally 
practised,  even  by  the  best  workmen. 

244.  "We  will  run  through  with  the  operation  of  hanging  a 
gate.     Set  the  heel  or  hinge  post  firmly  (see  Fig.  82),  with  the 
inside,  at  least,  perpendicular.     (The  inside  of  a  post  is  the  side 
towards  the  latch  post.)     If  the  gate  is  to  be  hung  with  hooks 
and  eyes,  like  those  represented  at  Fig.   85,   it  is  best  to  hang 
the   gate   so    as   to   swing   both    ways.      After   the   heel   post 
is  set  firmly,  strike  a  perpendicular  line  on  the  inside  of  it.      Put 
the  eyes  in  the  heel  stile  of  the  gate,  square  through  the  stile. 
If  it  is  desirable  to   have  a  gate  hung  so  as  to  shut  itself,  the 
upper  hook  must  be  about  two  inches  longer  than  the  lower,  and 
the  lower  eye  must  be  about  two  inches  longer  than  the  upper 
one.     This  subject  will  be  made  more  intelligible  by  reference  to 
Fig.  85,  which  represents  the  position  of  the   hinges  as  just  de 
scribed.      It  will  be  readily  perceived,  that  when  a  gate  thus 
hung  is  swung  around  through  a  quarter  of  a  circle,  or  more,  it 
will  not  stand  perpendicularly,  but  is  inclined  towards  the  gateway. 
This  inclination  tends  to  close  the  gate.     If  it  is  desirable  to  have 
a  gate  swing  open  itself,  all  that  is  necessary  is,    to  reverse  the 
hinges,  having  a  long  hook  at  the  bottom,  and  a  short  one  at  the 
top.     "When  a  gate  is  hung  in  this  way,  when  open   at  a  quarter 
of  a  circle,  or  at  a  right  angle,  it  will  lean  from  the  gateway. 
This  inclination  tends  to  keep  the  gate  open. 

245.  When  a  gate  is  hung  with  hooks  and  straps,  like  Fig. 
84,  a  gate  can  open  but  one  way,  and  it  may  be  hung  on  an 
even  balance,  or  so  as  to  swing  open  or  to  swing  shut.     The 
straps  should  be  bolted  first  to  the  gate,  and  if  it  is  desirable 
to  hang  it  so  as  to  swing  shut,  let  the  lower  strap  extend  be 
yond  the  heel  stile  of  the  gate  about  one  inch  and  a  half  far 
ther  than   the    top  one.     Set    the    gate    post,  and    plumb  the 
inside  of  it,  and  also  the  side  of  it  where  the   hinges  are  to  be 
put.      After  the  straps  are  bolted  on  the  gate,   set  it    up  and 
hold  it  in  the  position  it  is  to  hang,  and  bore  the  holes  for  the 
hooks,  observing  to  keep  the  bit  or  auger  directly  under  the  eye 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  185 

of  the  strap.  Drive  the  hooks  partly  into  the  post,  and  hang 
the  gate  on,  minding  to  keep  the  latch  end  of  the  gate  blocked 
up  until  the  hinges  are  driven  clear  in.  If  the  farmer  would 
have  his  gate  swing  open,  let  the  upper  strap  on  the  gate  extend 
beyond  the  lower  one  about  an  inch  and  a  half.  Another  way 
of  hanging  with  hooks  and  straps,  so  as  to  have  a  gate  swing 
open  or  shut,  is  to  let  both  straps  extend  an  equal  distance  be 
yond  the  heel  stile  of  the  gate,  just  as  they  do  when  a  gate  is  to 
be  hung  on  an  even  balance.  Now,  if  the  gate,  when  it  is  being 
opened,  swings  to  the  south,  for  example,  set  the  heel  post  lean 
ing  to  the  north  about  an  inch  and  a  half  from  a  perpendicular 
line.  This  slight  inclination  of  a  post  will  hardly  be  perceived 
by  the  bystander,  and  yet  so  slight  an  inclination  will  close  a 
gate  quickly  when  it  is  open  a  quarter  of  a  circle;  but  when 
swung  beyond  a  right  angle,  it  will  swing  back  the  other  way. 
In  order  to  have  a  gate  swing  open  when  unlatched,  when  it  is 
hung  as  last  mentioned,  let  the  heel  post  lean  a  little  the  way 
the  gate  swings  open.  It  will  then  open  at  a  right  angle,  and 
there  remain,  and  if  swung  back  through  half  a  circle,  it  will  re 
turn  again,  itself,  to  a  right  angle,  when  set  free. 

246.  I  have  been  unusually  particular  in  the   preceding  para 
graphs,  in  order  to  show  the  farmer  what  is  necessary  to  make  a 
gate  swing  to  his  mind  which  has  been  hung  for  a  long  time,  and 
needs  righting  up  a  little.     If,  for  instance,  a  gate  has  been  hung 
on  an  equal  balance,  but  will  swing  open  one  way,  and  swing 
shut  from  the  other  way,  the  heel  post  leans  the  way  the  gate 
swings  open,  and  must  be  righted  up  a  little,  if  we  would  have 
the  gate  remain  at  rest  when  open  or  partly  closed. 

247.  When  it  is  desirable   to  have   a  gate,  when  hung  with 
iron  hinges,  open  both  ways,  and  shut  itself  from  both  ways,  the 
gate  should  be  hung  with  hook  and  eye  at  the  top,  as  shown  at 
Fig.  85,  and  with   a  forked  hinge   at  the   bottom,  like  Fig.  86. 
The  forks  rest  against  two  staples  which  are  driven  into  the  heel 
posts,  one  of  which  is  represented  at  Fig.  87.     The   staples   are 
made  of  half-inch  round  iron,  about  two  inches  wide  and  three 
inches  long,  and  the  forked   hinge  may  be    made   morn   or  less 


186  THE   YOUNG   FAEMER'S   MANUAL. 

forked  or  branching.  For  ordinary  purposes  the  forks  should  be 
about  four  or  five  inches  apart  from  centre  to  centre.  When  the 
forks  are  six  inches  apart,  the  gate  will  close  itself  so  rapidly, 
from  a  right  angle,  as  to  break  the  latch,  or  to  split  the  latch 
stile  when  it  closes.  The  true  way  to  hang  a  gate  on  such 
hinges  is,  to  put  the  hinges  in  the  gate  stile  first,  and  then  set  the 
heel  post  perpendicularly  on  the  inside,  and  strike  a  line  on  the 

FIG.  86 


FIG.  87. 


A  FORKED   GATE-HINGE.  A  STAPLE   FOR   J'OKKED   GATE-HINGES. 

inside  of  the  post,  from  top  to  bottom  ;  and  having  driven  the  upper 
hook  in  the  post,  in  the  line,  hang  on  the  gate,  and  drive  in  the 
staples  at  an  equal  distance  from  the  plumb  line  on  the  post.  A 
gate  hung  in  this  manner  may  be  made  to  swing  open  both  ways 
of  itself,  by  leaning  the  heel  post  from  the  gateway  far  enough  to 
raise  the  latch  end  of  the  gate  four  or  five  inches  above  a  hori 
zontal  line, 

248.  The  advantages  of  the  forked  hinge  over  hooks  and  eyes, 
or  hooks  and  straps,  are :  the  latch  end  of  the  gate,  in  opening 
either  way  a  quarter  of  a  circle,  rises  from  eight  to  twelve  inches, 
more  or  less,  according  to  the  length  of  the  gate  and  the  width 
of  the  forked  hinge,  and  the  distance  the  hinges  are  apart.  This 
is  a  matter  of  convenience  when  snow  obstructs  the  gateway,  or 
when  the  ground  on  one  side  of  a  gate  would  not  allow  a  gate 
to  bo  opened  horizontally.  When  a  fence  runs  down  a  slope, 
having  a  gate  in  it,  if  the  heel  or  hinge  post  is  set  on  the  upper 
side  of  the  gateway,  the  latch  end  of  a  gate  will  rise  on  being 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


187 


opened,  and  allow  the  gate  to  be  opened  wider  than  with  any- 
other  hinges. 

249.  Fig.  88  represents  a  cheap  wooden  gate,  with  wooden 

FIG.  88. 

A 


A  SELF-SHUTTIXG  GATE   WITH   WOODEN   HINGES 


hinges,  self  shutting,  when  opened  either  way.  The  dotted  lines 
running  up  and  down  the  heel  stile,  cutting  the  centre  of  the 
upper  and  lower  hinge,  which  lines  should  be  about  two  inches 
asunder,  will  show  how  to  make  the  round  parts  of  the  stile. 
The  round  parts  of  the  stile  should  be  not  less  than  two  and  a 
half  or  three  inches  in  diameter.  The  bottom  eye  should  be  made 
of  a  good  piece  of  hard,  durable  wood,  about  three  by  six  inches 
square,  and  the  mortise  for  receiving  it  should  be  not  less  than 
three  by  four  inches  square  and  six  inches  deep,  and  the  tenon  of 
the  eye  and  mortise  should  be  well  painted  or  tarred  before  the 
eye  is  firmly  driven  in. 

250.  To  hang  such  a  gate  with  the  greatest  facility  and  dis 
patch,  drive  in  the  lower  hinge  and  put  the  hinge  post  in  its 
hole,  and  fill  it  just  enough  to  keep  the  post  erect ;  then  put  the 
gate  on  the  lower  hinge,  and  drive  in  the  upper  eye  while  it  is 
hooked  on  the  upper  end  of  the  stile.  Block  up  the  latch  end  of 
the  gate  on  a  level  with  the  heel  end,  and  plumb  the  side  of  the 
heel  stile,  keeping  it  in  that  position  while  the  hole  is  filled  to  the 
surface.  Afterwards  set  the  latch  post.  Instead  of  having  the 
lower  end  of  the  heel  stile  made  round  for  a  hinge,  it  may  he 


188 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


square  on  the  end,  and  a  piece  of  three-quarter-inch  round  iron 
driven  into  the  lower  end  of  the  stile,  and  passing  through  the 
wooden  eye  which  supports  the  gate.  In  such  a  case  the  wooden 
eye  need  not  be  more  than  two  and  a  half  inches  square,  but  it 
should  always  be  made  of  the  very  best  of  timber.  Always  keep 
wooden  hinges  well  greased.  Never  put  on  tar,  because  it  will 
soon  become  hard  and  wear  the  hinges  more  than  if  nothing  were 
used  as  a  lubricator.  This  style  of  gates  will  correspond  well 
with  fences  like  Figs.  30  and  32. 

251.  Fig.  89  represents  a  very  neat  board  gate,  to  correspond 

FIG.  89. 


^ 


CARRIAGE-YARD   GATE,   THRKK  FEKT  SIX    INCHES   W.ill. 

with  the  style  offence  like  Fig.  32.  The  heel  stile  is  about  three 
by  four  inches  square,  and  the  latch  stile  two  by  three  square,  of 
oak,  or  other  hard  and  durable  timber.  The  stay  may  be  mor 
tised  for  the  slats,  or  halved  on  one  side,  and  a  ribbon  of  a  cor 
responding  width  fitted  to  the  other  side  and  bolted  with  carriage 
bolts.  The  struts  are  one  inch  by  two,  neatly  fitted,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  gate,  and  bolted  with  carriage  bolts.  Carriage  bolts 
are  much  better  than  rivets,  because  they  will  draw  the  struts 
tighter  than  rivets,  and  are  more  easily  put  in ;  and  they  cost  no 
more,  and  look  much  better  than  rivets ;  and  in  case  a  gate  gets 
broken  it  can  be  readily  taken  apart,  whereas  it  would  be  no  de 
sirable  job  to  get  out  a  lot  of  rivets  after  they  have  been  firmly 
put  in.  The  latch  plays  in  a  mortise  in  the  latch  stile,  and  is 
suspended  by  a  little  chain  near  one  end.  The  gate  maybe  from 
ten  to  twelve  feet  long,  with  boards  one  inch  thick,  and  widths 
and  spaces  as  indicated  by  the  figures  in  the  illustration.  The 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


189 


tenons  should  be  well  painted,  and  also  the  surfaces  of  conjunc 
tion  between  all  other  parts.  The  cap  board  is  as  wide  as  the 
stiles,  with  the  ends  let  in  them  about  half  an  inch,  as  shown  in 
the  figure.  When  such  a  gate  opens  into  the  highway,  it  looks 
quite  as  well  to  have  it  hung  with  hooks  and  strap-hinges,  like 
Fig.  84. 

A    STRUT    AND    PICKET    GATE. 

252.  Fig.  90  represents,  in  the  eyes  of  many  people,  a  very 
FIG.  90. 


A   STRUT  AND     PICKET   GATE. 


tasty  and  fanciful  style  of  lawn  gate.  The  heel  stile  is  about  two 
and  a  half  by  four  or  five  inches,  and  the  latch  stile  two  and  a 
half  by  two,  and  the  arms  also  two  and  a  half  by  two.  The  bot 
tom  board  is  about  eight  inches  wide  and  three  inches  below  the 
lower  arm.  The  struts  are  one  inch  thick  and  two  and  a  half 
wide,  and  the  ends  sawed  off  in  a  mitre-box.  In  nailing  on  the 
struts,  commence  with  the  shortest  one,  at  the  heel  stile.  The 
pickets  may  be  of  any  desirable  style,  with  or  without  ornamen 
tal  tops,  or  the  tops  may  be  plain  and  tapering  to  a  point.  Such 
a  gate  ought  to  be  hung  with  hooks  and  strap  hinges,  bolted  to 
the  stile  and  the  upper  arm.  If  such  a  gate  is  more  than  nine 
feet  long,  there  should  be  a  stay  bolted  to  the  arms  and  bottom 
board  in  the  middle  of  the  gate.  When  such  a  gate  is  u'sed  very 
often,  it  would  bo  much  better  to  have  a  double  gate — two  short 
ones — than  one  twelve  feet  in  length.  It  may  be  fastened  with 
a  latch  or  hook.  It  would  be  well  to  have  an  iron  tie  on  a  gate 


190 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


of  this  style,  to  keep  it  from  sagging,  as  without  one  the  arms 
may  bow  upwards  more  or  less. 

A   PICKET    GATE    FOR   A   LAWN    ENTRANCE. 

253.  Fig.  91  represents  a  very  good  style  for  a  picket  gate, 
FIG.  91. 


A   GATE   WITH   SQUAKK   PICKETS. 


and  it  may  be  made  in  two  parts,  or  whole,  as  represented  by  the 
cut.  The  hinge  stile  is  three  by  four  or  five  inches,  the  latch 
stile  two  by  three  inches,  the  arms  two  by  three,  and  the  pickets 
about  an  inch  and  one-fourth  square.  The  arms  are  about  two 
feet  apart,  and  the  longest  picket  extends  twenty  inches  above 
the  upper  arm,  and  the  shortest  ones  about  eight  inches  above  it. 
The  ends  of  the  stiles  are  pointed  also.  The  bottom  board  may 
be  close  to  the  lower  arm,  or  two  or  three  inches  below  it. 

254.  In  making  such  a  gate,  make  the  mortises  in  the  upper 
arm  smooth  and  true  through  the  arm,  and  dress  out  the  pickets 
one  inch  and  a  fourth  square,  and  point  them  in  the  vise,  with 
drawing-knife  and  plane.  Drive  in  the  longest  one  first,  and  then 
extend  a  line  from  the  point  of  it  to  the  point  of  the  stiles,  and 
drive  in  the  others.  Let  them  be  dressed  so  that  they  will  fill 
the  mortise  water-tight.  When  they  are  all  in,  nail  them,  and 
saw  off  the  lower  ends,  and  drive  on  the  lower  arm,  and  it  will 
be  then  ready  for  the  stiles  and  bottom  board.  Let  the  tenons 
and  parts  of  pickets  in  the  arms  be  well  painted,  before  putting 
them  together.  Hang  it  with  hinges,  which  may  be  bolted  to  the 
stile  and  arm,  like  Fig.  84.  I  have  been  thus  explicit  on  this 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


191 


gate,  because  many  workmen  are  at  a  loss  to  know  how  to  put  it 
together  in  the  most  advantageous  manner. 


WIRE    GATES. 


255.  Fig.  92  represents  a  wire  gate,  with  the  heel  or  hinge 
stile  and  latch  stile  of  wood,  upper  and  lower  arms  of  wood,  with 

FIG.  92. 


A   WOOD  AND  WIBB  GATE. 


the  wires  passing  through  the  stiles,  and  the  two  ends  twisted 
together.  The  hinge  stile  should  be  at  least  four  inches  wide, 
although  five  inches  would  be  better,  and  the  latch  stile  should 
be  at  least  three  inches  wide,  and,  for  ordinary  gates,  about  two 
and  a  half  thick.  Both  the  upper  and  lower  arms  should  be 
tapering,  as  represented  in  the  illustration,  and  the  deeper,  up 
and  down,  they  are,  at  the  hinge  stile,  the  less  liable  a  gate  is  to 
sag.  At  the  other  ends  of  the  arms  they  need  not  be  more  than 
two  and  a  half  inches  square.  Wire  as  large  as  number  twelve, 
(see  Fig.  40,)  well  annealed,  is  sufficiently  large  for  filling  be 
tween  the  arms.  Two  wires  are  put  at  one  place,  and  strained, 
by  putting  a  short  rod  of  iron  between  them  at  the  middle  of  the 
gate,  and  turning  it  over  and  over  until  it  is  sufficiently  tight. 
Before  straining  them,  however,  a  stiff  rail  or  pole  should  be 
placed  parallel  with  the  wires,  between  the  stiles,  to  prevent  the 
wires,  when  they  are  being  twisted,  from  springing  the  latch  stile 
inward.  After  all  the  wires  are  strained,  this  rail  may  be  re 
moved,  and  the  wires  will  all  remain  of  the  same  tension.  Should 
any  of  the  wires  become  a  little  slack  they  can  be  strained  a 


192 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


little  more,  at  any  time,  as  two  wires  when  twisted  together  will 
not  untwist  of  their  own  accord. 


AN    IRON    AND    WIRE    LAWN    GATE. 

256.  Fig.  93  represents  a  very  neat  and  cheap  gate,  made  en 
tirely  of  iron  and  wire,  with  posts  of  stone.     The  posts  may  be 

FIG.  93. 


IRON   LAWN   GATE   WITH  STONE  POST. 


maae  of  small  stone,  laid  up  in  cement,  with  hinges  for  gates 
and  staples  for  wires  laid  in  the  cement.  The  hinges  should 
extend  entirely  through  the  posts ;  and  the  staples,  for  attaching 
the  wires  of  a  fence  on  each  side  of  the  gateway,  should  also  be 
long  enough  to  reach  from  side  to  side  of  the  posts,  with  the 
ends  bent  like  a  square  hook,  to  prevent  their  drawing  out.  The 
stiles  and  arms  may  be  of  cast  or  wrought  iron,  with  holes  in 
each  side  for  the  wires,  which  may  be  put  in  and  strained  by 
twisting  them  together,  as  recommended  in  Fig.  92.  A  very 
light  pattern  may  be  made  of  wood,  with  both  sides  of  the  gate 
alike,  and  gates  cast  after  it.  Two  such  gates  swinging  together 
may  be  used  to  close  a  drive  or  carriage-way.  At  'a  and  b  two 
cross  sections  of  the  stiles  and  arms  are  shown.  The  top  may 
be  ornamented  with  pickets  of  any  style,  and  cast  with  the  gate. 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


193 


The  hinges  may  be  also  cast  with  the  gate.  The  pattern  for  latch 
stile  may  be  made  of  stuff  an  inch  and  a  half  by  three-eighths,  and 
the  hinge  stile  a  trifle  heavier.  The  posts  should  be  of  very  small 
stone,  with  the  joints  pointed,  and  the  top  mounted  with  a  square 
cope  stone,  with  any  ornament  on  the  summit  of  these.  Should  a 
wire  fence  be  attached,  the  post  should  be  most  substantially 
braced,  so  that  the  frost  would  not  move  the  posts  by  lifting  the 
ends  of  the  braces. 

257.    Fig.    94    repre-  FIG.  94. 

sents  a  very  cheap  but 
durable  farm  gate^  which 
has  one  quality  to  recom 
mend  it,  of  which  the 
other  gates  noticed  are 
destitute,  which  is,  it  is 
adjustable  on  the  hinges, 
and  when  snow  obstructs 
the  way  it  can  be  raised 
as  high  as  the  top  of  the 
hinge  post,  and  fastened 
there  by  putting  a  small 

iron    pin    into    the    round  A  CHEAP  WOOD  AND  WIRE  GATE. 

part  of  the  post,  under  the  end  of  the  upper  arm.  The  top 
end  of  the  post  is  turned  round,  not  less  than  three  inches  in 
diameter,  and,  instead  of  passing  through  the  upper  arm,  a  strip 
of  band  iron  may  be  bent  around  it,  and  bolted  to  the  end  of  the 
arm.  The  lower  hinge  is  made  of  a  tough  piece  of  hard  wood 
plank,  not  less  than  two  inches  thick,  of  a  form  corresponding  to 
the  size  of  the  post,  with  a  gain  in  one  side.  The  lower  end  of 
the  heel  stile  is  fitted  to  this  gain,  and  the  hinge  is  bolted  to  the 
stile,  and  plays  on  the  outside  of  the  post.  A  gate  hung  in  this 
manner  will  swing  entirely  round  the  post.  The  slats  of  such  a 
gate  may  be  of  narrow  boards  instead  of  wire,  or  pickets  may 
be  nailed  on  the  arms.  Let  the  hinges  be  kept  well  greased. 
Sometimes  an  iron  pin  is  put  through  the  end  of  the  arm  into 
the  top  of  the  pos',  instead  of  letting  the  post  extend  above  the 


194 


THE  YOUNG  FARMEE's   MANUAL. 


gate,  as  shown  in  the  figure ;  but  the  stress  at  that  point  is  so 
hard,  that  a  small  iron  pin,  if  it  were  not  turned  smooth,  would 
in  a  few  years  wear  a  large  hole  in  the  arm.  This  gate  will 
open  either  way,  and  hangs  on  an  even  balance  at  whatever 
point  it  may  be  opened.  It  may  be  fastened  with  a  latch  or 
hook. 

SELF-SUSTAINING    GATEWAY. 

258.  Fig.  95  represents  a  gateway  which  some  men  prefer  to 
all  others,  because  it  has  many  things  to  recommend  it  which  are 
not  available  where  nothing  but  bare  posts  are  used.  It  is  self- 
sustaining,  and  may  be  successfully  used  in  localities  where  rock 
lies  near  the  surface  of  the  soil,  where  it  would  be  impracticable 

FIG.  95. 


SELF-SUSTAINING   GATEWAY. 


to  dig  post  holes.  It  may  be  made  as  ornamental  as  desirable 
by  casing  the  posts  c  c  and  the  plate  d.  One  gate,  or  two,  may 
be  hung  to  the  posts,  and  by  having  the  hooks  (hinges)  go 
through  the  posts,  and  fasten  with  nuts  and  screws  on  the  outside, 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  195 

the  hooks  can  be  taken  out  with  facility  and  put  into  holes  one 
or  two  feet  higher  in  the  winter  when  the  snow  is  deep,  which  is 
a  convenience  of  no  trivial  consideration  in  many  localities  where 
snow  is  liable  to  drift  about  the  gate.  The  bed-piece  a  should 
be  of  durable  timber,  and  extend  a  little  on  the  outside  of  the 
posts  and  braces.  The  sills  b  b  should  be  let  into  the  bed-piece 
about  two  inches.  The  posts  need  not  be  more  than  six  inches 
square,  and  the  plate  four  by  six.  The  gains,  tenons  and  mor 
tises  should  all  be  painted  well,  or  smeared  with  coal  tar.  By 
attaching  a  piece  of  plank  each  post  may  be  used  as  a  straining- 
post  for  wire  fence.  The  bed-piece  a  may  be  a  round  log,  flat 
tened  a  little  on  the  upper  side,  with  the  surface  not  less  than 
three  inches  above  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  sills  should 
not  be  set  on  the  ground,  but  supported  with  flat  stones. 

RAILWAY    GATES. 

259.  It  may  be  asked  why  I  do  not  give  an  illustration  of  a 
railway  gate,  since  there  are  so  many  different  styles  of  them. 
If  I  had  ever  seen  one  that  I  truly  admired  as  economical  and 
convenient,  I  would  not  fail  to  give  a  description  and  illus 
tration  of  it,  but  I  have  never  seen  one  that  I  liked  half  as 
well  as  a  hinge  gate  ;  and  I  never  have  known  one  instance 
where  a  man  had  used  a  railway  gate  for  a  few  years  who  did 
not  utterly  dislike  it,  and  wish  a  good  hinge  gate  were  in  its 
place.  An  illustration  of  one  looks  well,  and  a  new  gate  looks 
well,  and  if  well  made  will  work  well  for  a  few  seasons ;  but  if  it  is 
used  very  much  the  wheels  will  soon  rub  hard  against  the  wood, 
and  will  make  it  run  hard  ;  and  in  wet  and  wintry  weather  the 
wheels  will  be  frozen  fast,  and  a  man's  strength  will  be  required 
to  open  it ;  and,  more  than  all  else,  a  railway  gate  is  more  expen 
sive  than  a  hinge  gate.  A  good  stick  of  timber,  more  than 
enough  for  two  gate  posts,  is  required  for  the  track,  and  as  it  is 
laid  near  the  surface  of  the  ground,  it  will  not  last  but  a  few 
seasons.  A  man  will  make  and  hang  a  good  hinge  gate  with 
less  timber  and  in  less  time  than  a  railway  gate,  and  when  it  is 
finished  it  will  outlast  the  railway  gate  by  twice  the  number  of 


196  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

years,  and  be  twice  as  convenient.  A  railway  gate  is  always 
getting  off  the  track,  or  something  else,  and  the  proprietor  is 
always  wishing  that  he  had  never  seen  such  a  vexatious  nuisance. 


SECTION    8. HEDGES   FOB   FENCE. 

"  In  rural  shades,  'mong  rural  hills  and  dales, 
The  Osage  Thorn  supplies  the  place  of  rails. 
The  Yellow  Locust,  with  far-reaching  roots, 
Of  rapid  growth,  and  thorny,  numerous  shoots  ; 
Or  the  Red  Cedar,  with  its  ugly  arms, 
Guards  safe  the  way  between  adjoining  farms."— EDWARDS. 

260.  On  the  subject  of  hedges  I  shall  be  unusually  brief,  be 
cause  at  the  present  day  many  writers,  and  experimenters,  too,  of 
unquestionable  authority,  pronounce  hedges  a  total  failure,  while, 
on  the  contrary,  others,  of  equally  good  authority,  speak  of  them 
in  the  most  approved  terms.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  good 
hedges  have  been  made  in  A.merica,  and  that  there  are  now 
hundreds  of  miles  of  hedges  which  will  turn,  effectually,  every 
kind  of  animals  that  are  allowed  to  have  their  liberty  on  the 
farm.  It  is  granted  that  there  have  been  very  many  total  fail 
ures  in  making  hedges,  but  the  cause  of  failure  could  not  be 
attributed  to  the  materials  employed,  but  to  the  manner  of  arrang 
ing  and  disposing  them,  and  to  the  improper  treatment  which 
they  received  at  the  time  of  transplanting,  and  for  a  year  or  two 
afterwards.  The  first  steps  in  making  a  hedge  decide  the  ques 
tion  whether  it  will  ultimately  prove  a  failure  or  a  success.  Be 
cause  one  man  has  failed  in  his  attempts  to  make  a  hedge,  the 
beginner  should  not  be  deterred  from  exercising  his  ingenuity 
and  skill,  if  he  wishes  to  have  a  hedge,  by  endeavoring  to  pro 
duce  one  that  will  not  disappoint  his  expectations.  Hedges 
require  care  and  protection,  and  sometimes  a  little  skillful  pruning 
and  other  treatment,  in  order  to  render  the  plants  even,  vigorous 
and  strong.  There  are  miles  in  length  of  most  beautiful  hedges, 
in  many  of  the  older  States,  which  have  stood  for  years  as  an 
impassable  barrier  to  every  animal  that  it  is  desirable  to  turn  on 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL.  197 

a  farm,  besides  being  a  most  beautiful  appendage  to  a  well  cul 
tivated  farm.  And,  without  doubt,  more  than  an  equal  number 
of  miles  of  hedge  can  be  found,  which,  on  account  of  its  having 
received  improper  treatment  and  cultivation  during  the  first 
years  of  its  growth,  stand,  not  only  as  a  complete  failure,  but  as 
a  nuisance  on  a  farm,  and  an  eye-sore  to  a  skillful  farmer. 

261.  The  first  step  in  making  a  hedge  is,  to  prepare  the  soil 
where  the  hedge  is  to  stand.  If  the  soil  be  wettish  it  should  be 
thoroughly  drained.  It  would  be  folly  to  attempt  to  grow  a 
hedge  in  a  locality  where  it  would  be  too  wet  to  raise  good 
winter  wheat.  But  few  kinds  of  trees  will  flourish  well  where 
there  is  an  excess  of  water  in  the  soil.  If  the  soil  needs  a  ditch 
where  the  hedge  is  to  stand,  a  portion  of  the  distance,  or  all  of  it, 
commence  preparing  the  ground  the  season  previous  to  planting 
the  hedge,  in  order  to  have  a  deep,  well  pulverized  soil  for  the 
roots  to  ramify  in.  The  use  of  the  ground  need  not  be  lost 
while  the  hedge  is  growing,  but  it  will  be  an  advantage  to  raise 
a  crop  every  year,  until  the  hedge  is  sufficiently  large  to  turn 
animals.  Stake  off  a  strip  where  a  hedge  is  to  be  planted,  about 
sixteen  feet  wide,  or  wide  enough  to  have,  at  least,  two  or  three 
rows  of  potatoes  on  each  side  of  the  rows  of  hedge  plants.  It 
is  better  to  have  the  strip  unnecessarily  wide  than  to  have  it  too 
narrow,  or  so  narrow  that  the  ground  on  each  side  of  the  hedge 
cannot  be  cultivated  with  a  horse  and  scarifier  of  some  kind. 
Commence  plowing  this  land  early  in  the  fall.  If  there  is  sod 
on  the  ground,  commence  in  the  spring.  Plow  it  four  or  five 
times,  at  least,  before  winter,  throwing  the  furrows  outward  at 
every  plowing.  This  process  will  produce  a  deep  middle  furrow, 
and  the  deeper  it  can  be  plowed  the  better.  After  working  the 
land  as  deep  as  is  convenient  with  the  plow,  make  a  ditch  in  the 
middle  so  that  it  would  be  not  less  than  three  feet  deep  on  a  level. 
Tile  it  or  stone  it  well,  having  a  good  outlet  for  the  water.  Fill 
the  ditch  with  dirt,  and  let  the  whole  remain  exposed  to  the 
influence  of  the  frosts  and  rains  of  winter,  which  will  make  the 
whole  soil  very  mellow.  This  operation  is  very  important,  where 
the  soil  is  inclined  to  be  lumpy  during  the  summer,  and  where 


198  THE   10UNG   FARML'K'S   MANUAL. 

the  subsoil  is  very  stubborn.  On  gravelly  soils,  or  on  any  other 
soils  where  the  roots  of  trees  strike  deep  readily,  where  the  sub 
soil  has  not  been  pulverized,  this  operation  is  not  necessary. 
The  operator  must  exercise  his  own  judgment,  whether  or  not  his 
soil  would  be  improved  by  such  a  process.  In  many  localities, 
such  a  preparation  of  soil  for  a  hedge  would  be  injurious,  and  a 
hedge  would  not  flourish  as  luxuriantly  on  it  as  it  would  have 
done  had  the  subsoil  been  allowed  to  remain  untouched.  "Where 
a  soil  can  be  benefited  by  fall  plowing,  such  a  preparation  is  very 
necessary. 

262.  On  the    succeeding   spring,  as  soon  as  the    soil  is  dry 
enough  to  plow,  plow  this  strip  of  land  by  turning  the  furrows 
inward  at  every  plowing,  until  it  is  six  or  eight  inches  higher 
over  the  ditch  than  it  is  at  the  sides.     Level   it  with  a  harrow 
and  mark  out  the  rows  with  a  plow,  and  it  is  ready  for  the  plants. 

263.  When  the  soil  is  not  of  a  uniform  quality  throughout  the 
whole  distance,  care  and  pains  should  be  taken  to  make   it  so,  as 
far  as  practicable.     In  crossing  a  field  forty  or  fifty  rods  in  width, 
for  instance,  a  portion  of  the  distance  may  be  a  deep,  mellow, 
and  very  fertile  soil,  where  almost  anything  would  flourish  rapidly, 
while,  perhaps,  only  a  few  rods  from  this  fertile  soil,  on  a  little 
rise  of  ground,  for  a  number  of  rods  in  length,  the  soil  is  very 
compact,  stubborn  and  barren.     When  this  is  the  case,  a  few 
loads  of  the  good  soil  should  be  hauled,  and  well  mingled  with 
the  poor  soil  before  the  plowing  is  finished  ;  and  there  should  be 
enough  spread  along  on  the  top  to  set  the  plants  in.     Besides 
mingling  the  different  kinds  of  soil,  some  parts  of  the  land  should 
be  well  manured,  and  plowed  in  at  the  last  plowing.     The  idea 
to  be  kept  in  mind  is,  to  have  the  soil,  for  the  entire  distance  as 
nearly  as  may  be,  of  a  uniform  character,  so  that  the  hedge  will 
be  of  a  uniform  height  throughout.     If  the  soil  be  barren  in  one 
place  for  a  few  rods,  and  very  fertile  in  another  place,  it  will  be 
impracticable  to  produce  a  hedge  that  will  be  at  all  beautiful,  and 
efficient  for  the  purpose  of  turning  animals.     If  the  soil  is  not 
sufficiently  fertile  to  produce  good  crops  of  grain,  it  should  be 
well  manured  with  chip  manure  where  the  soil  is  compact,  if  it 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  199 

can  be  obtained,  or  with  well-rotted  barnyard  manure.  It  would 
be  great  folly  to  transplant  a  lot  of  quicks  in  a  soil  where  they 
would  not  make  a  good  growth  the  first  season.  It  is  no  uncom 
mon  thing  to  meet  with  barren  spots  in  fields  that  are  considered 
to  be  in  a  good  state  of  cultivation,  and  whenever  a  hedge  is  to 
be  made  through  such  a  place,  it  must  be  plowed  and  pulverized, 
and  enriched  thoroughly,  or  we  may  rest  assured  that  in  such 
places  hedges  will  prove  a  complete  failure. 


HOW    TO    OBTAIN    THE    QUICKS. 

264.  "When  a  farmer  contemplates  making  a  hedge,  he  should 
sow  the  seed  in  drills  in  the  nursery,  in  a  soil  which  is  not  in  a 
better  state  of  cultivation  than  the  soil  where  the  hedge  is  to  be 
made.  If  quicks  be  taken  from  a  nursery  where  the  soil  has 
been  manured  very  highly,  and  transplanted  where  the  soil  is  of 
an  inferior  character,  they  will  not  grow  as  much  in  a  season,  if 
they  grow  at  all,  as  if  they  had  been  taken  from  a  soil  inferior  to 
the  soil  into  which  they  are  now  to  be  transplanted.  The  prac 
tice  of  taking  plants  from  a  rich,  well-cultivated  soil,  and  trans 
planting  them  into  a  soil  inferior  to  the  one  from  which  they 
were  taken,  operates  like  taking  a  well-fed  animal  from  his  regu 
lar  allowance  of  grain  and  good  hay,  and  compelling  him  to  sub 
sist  on  straw  only.  In  order  to  have  the  quicks  grow  well,  the 
soil  where  the  hedge  is  to  be  planted  should  be  quite  as  rich, 
mellow,  and  fertile  as  that  soil  is  from  which  the  quicks  are  taken 
when  they  are  to  be  transplanted.  For  this  simple  reason  the 
farmer  will  succeed  much  better  in  his  attempts  to  grow  a  hedge 
if  he  sows  his  own  seed  and  raises  his  own  quicks,  than  he  will  to 
purchase  of  professional  nurserymen,  whose  grounds  are  kept  in 
a  high  state  of  cultivation  by  an  abundant  supply  of  good  ma 
nure.  Farmers  often  purchase  quicks — and  the  same  thing  holds 
good  with  fruit-trees — of  men  whose  grounds  have  been  made 
as  rich  as  they  could  conveniently  be  made  with  manure  ;  and 
although  they  have  transplanted  them  in  the  best  manner,  and 
have  cultivated  the  soil  on  which  they  stand  in  the  most  thorough 
9 


. 

200  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

manner,  still,  during  the  first  season  or  two,  many  of  them  barely 
live,  without  growing  two  inches. 

265.  Does  the  beginner  ask,  Why  not  sow  the  seed  where  the 
hedge  is  to  grow  ?     One  reason  is,  the  quicks  would  not  be  as 
well  protected  from  cattle,  usually,  as  if  they  were  in  the  nursery  ; 
and  another  reason  is,  it  would  not  be  as  practicable  to  produce 
a  hedge  with  the  quicks  of  so  uniform  size  and  distance  apart 
from  planting  the  seed,  as  it  would  to  grow  them  in  a  nursery, 
and  then  transplant  them.     Were  it  not  for  the  feet  that  plants 
of  almost  every  kind,  when  produced  from  the  seed  sown  in 
drills,  will  in  some  places  be  very  vigorous,  while  others  will  not 
grow  as  rapidly  as  they  ought  to  in  order  to  keep  of  a  uniform 
size  and  height,  and  were  it  not  also  for  the  failure  of  some  of 
the  seed  to  grow,  and  the  liability  of  the  quicks  to  be  of  unequal 
distances  apart,  and  to  stand  not  in  a  line,  as  they  should,  it  would 
be  as  well  to  sow  the  seed  where  the  hedge  is  to  be  made.     It 
will,  as  a  general  rule,  be  found  to  be  the  most  convenient,  eco 
nomical,  and  best,  to  grow  the  young  plants  in  a  nursery,  and 
transplant  them  where  the  hedge  is  to  stand.     The  soil  should  be 
prepared  as  for  carrots  or  beets,  and  sowed,  with  a  drill  or  by 
hand,  in  rows  from  thirty  to  forty  inches  apart,  to  suit  the  pro 
prietor.     It  is  best  to  have  them  far  enough  apart  to  allow  a 
horse  and  scarifier  to  pass  between  them.     In  clayey  soils  that 
are  inclined  to  bake  over  the  seed,  the  drills  should  be  covered 
with  black  dirt  or  mould,  or  fine  chip  manure,  tan  bark,  sawdust, 
or  such  like.     The  seed  is  usually  sown  thicker  than  the  quicks 
should  be  allowed  to  stand,  and  must  be  thinned  out  so  as  to  stand 
from   two   to  three   inches   apart.      Let  them   be  nursed,  and 
the  ground  kept  clean  and  mellow  about  them  ;   and  remember, 
that  weeds  in  some  States  will  grow  four  times  as  fast  as  the 
young  plants,  and  if  not  kept  down  the  plants  will  soon  be 
smothered. 

TAKING   UP   THE   QUICKS. 

266.  "WTien  the  young  plants  are  dug  up,  if  dug  with  a  spade, 
great  care  should  be  exercised  by  the  laborers  not  to  mutilate 


201 

the  roots  more  than  can  be  avoided.  "When  there  are  many  to 
take  up,  it  can  be  performed  very  expeditiously  with  a  plow  and 
team.  Let  the  tops  all  be  cut  off  within  about  four  inches  of 
the  ground  with  a  stiff  very  sharp  grass  scythe;  and  then,  if  one 
has  a  subsoil  plow,  let  the  plow  run  about  eight  or  ten  inches 
deep,  if  the  roots  run  as  deep  as  that,  on  each  side  of  a  row, 
about  eight  inches  from  the  row  ;  and  then  a  third  furrow,  with  the 
handles  of  the  plow  leaning  to  the  left,  will  loosen  all  the  plants 
so  that  they  can  be  taken  up  with  the  hands  without  any  spade 
or  mattock.  When  the  roots  run  very  deep,  those  who  raise 
many  thousands  of  plants  have  a  plow  made  almost  expressly 
for  such  a  purpose,  with  a  very  wide  wing  to  the  plow  point  for 
the  purpose  of  cutting  off  the  long  tap  roots  ;  but  ordinary  farm 
ers  may  use  any  plow,  and  hitch  on  a  strong  team  to  plow  up 
the  row,  and  if  half  of  them  or  more  get  covered  up,  let  them 
be  hauled  out  with  manure  hooks.  After  they  are  all  taken  up, 
they  should  be  assorted,  and  no  little  care  should  be  exercised  to 
keep  the  roots  from  being  injured  by  sunshine  or  drying  winds 
while  they  are  out  of  the  ground.  If  thought  best  to  take  them 
up  in  autumn,  and  to  keep  them  in  the  cellar  during  winter,  as 
many  prefer  to  do,  the  roots  should  be  well  covered  with  sand  or 
loam  to  keep  them  from  wilting. 

ASSORTING    THE    QUICKS. 

267.  The  object  of  assorting  quicks  for  a  hedge  is,  to  have  all 
those  of  a  uniform  size  planted  together.  If  they  be  transplanted 
without  any  regard  to  size,  with  the  small  ones  mingled  with  the 
large  ones,  the  large  ones  will  most  certainly  overgrow  the  puny 
ones,  making  a  weak  place  in  the  hedge.  There  will  be  many 
quicks  which  are  not  fit  to  transplant  into  the  hedge  row,  and 
which  should  be  rejected  as  worthless,  or  left  in  the  nursery  to 
grow  another  year.  If  such  quicks  be  planted  with  others  which 
have  strong,  healthy  roots,  the  roots  of  the  large  quicks  will  spread 
all  around  where  the  roots  of  the  small  weak  plants  should  be, 
thus  robbing  the  small  ones  of  their  necessary  nourishment ;  but 
by  transplanting  those  of  a  given  size  together,  i.  e.:  those  having 


202  THE  YOUNG  FABMER'S  MANUAL. 

roots  and  stems  about  of  an  equal  size,  the  hedge  will  grow  up 
of  a  uniform  size  and  strength.  If,  for  instance,  there  are  quicks 
enough  in  one  lot  to  make  a  hedge  row  four  or  six  rods  in  length, 
let  the  smallest  ones  be  set  together  in  the  best  soil,  if  there 
should  be  any  difference  in  the  quality  of  it,  and  the  largest  ones 
in  the  poorest  locations.  Assorting  the  quicks  properly  is  one  of 
the  most  important  parts  of  making  hedges.  It  requires  the 
exercise  of  keen  and  quick  perception,  and  good  discrimination 
and  judgment.  In  assorting  them  the  operator  should  select  one 
of  the  largest  and  most  vigorous  quicks  in  the  lot,  and  lay  it  by 
itself.  Then  select  as  small  a  one  as  is  fit  to  be  transplanted. 
Select  one  or  two,  if  there  be  much  difference  in  their  sizes,  of  a 
size  between  those  already  selected.  These  will  answer  for  a 
common  standard.  Distribute  the  quicks,  with  the  large  ones  by 
themselves,  and  the  small  ones  and  those  of  medium  size  by 
themselves.  One  must  be  guided  in  assorting,  not  only  by  the 
size  of  the  stems  alone,  but  by  the  size  of  both  roots  and  stems. 
Should  a  small  quick  have  very  strong  and  vigorous  roots,  it 
would  be  better  to  rank  it  with  those  having  roots  of  about  an 
equal  size.  If  a  large  quick  has  but  few  roots,  it  should  not  be 
placed  with  the  large  ones  because  it  has  a  large  stem,  but  it 
should  be  placed  with  those  having  roots  which  correspond  in  size 
the  nearest  to  it.  The  operator  cannot  be  too  particular  in  this 
operation,  for  not  only  the  beauty  and  evenness  of  a  hedge  de 
pend  on  a  judicious  assorting  of  the  quicks,  but  their  efficiency  is 
involved  in  it.  If  quicks  be  transplanted  without  the  foregoing 
considerations,  gaps  and  weak  places  in  a  hedge  will  surely  follow. 


SECTION    9. TRANSPLANTING    QUICKS. 

"  Beneath  the  sunny,  vernal  sky, 
Now  scoop  the  mellow  earth  aside, 
And  bury  in  the  fertile  soil 
The  tiny  rootlets  spreading  wide." — EDWARDS. 

268.  In  the  first  place  take  the  plow,  adjusted  to  run  about 
three  inches  deep,  and  turn  two  furrows  from  each  other,  where 


THE  YOUNG  FARMERS  MANUAL.  203 

the  hedge  is  to  be  planted.  Next,  with  a  shovel,  clean  out  the 
trench,  three  or  four  inches  deep,  and  wide  enough  to  receive  the 
roots  of  the  largest  quicks,  when  they  are  fully  extended  from 
side  to  side,  without  their  being  bent  sideways.  The  roots  should 
spread  out  as  far  as  they  will  reach,  and  all  the  little  roots  and 
spongioles  should  be  spread  out  to  their  full  extent,  as  they  origin 
ally  grew.  Cut  off  all  tap  roots  smoothly,  and  cut  off  the  ends 
of  those  roots  that  have  been  mutilated  in  digging  up  the  plants. 
Stretch  a  line  about  three  or  four  rods  long,  about  an  inch  on  one 
side  of  the  place  where  the  row  is  to  stand.  Have  it  high 
enough  so  as  not  to  be  in  the  way  when  hauling  in  the  dirt. 
Let  knots  be  tied  in  this  line,  as  far  apart  as  the  quicks  are  to  be 
planted.  Set  each  quick  about  an  inch  from  the  line,  at  every 
knot.  When  two  rows  are  to  be  planted,  the  quicks  of  the 
second  row  should  be  placed  opposite  the  spaces  and  not  opposite 
the  other  plants.  When  three  rows  are  set  out  there  should 
be  two  lines  stretched,  one  for  each  outside  row,  and  the  quicks 
in  the  outside  rows  should  stand  opposite  the  spaces  in  the  middle 
row.  When  the  stems  of  the  quicks  are  cut  off,  the  line  may  be 
stretched  where  the  rows  are  to  stand,  and  a  quick  placed  under 
every  knot  of  the  line.  If  the  dirt  is  not  mellow  and  fine  in 
every  place,  it  would  be  well  to  have  a  load  hauled  by  the  side 
of  the  hedge  row ;  and  when  one  man  places  the  quicks,  let 
another  man  throw  a  few  shovelfuls  on  the  roots.  Manure  should 
never  be  applied  directly  to  the  roots.  A  few  inches  of  mellow 
earth  should  be  applied  first,  and  then  manure,  and  then  more 
dirt,  when  manure  is  applied  at  transplanting.  The  quicks  should 
never  be  transplanted,  when  the  soil  is  too  wet  to  be  worked  in 
for  other  purposes,  lest  it  lake  around  the  root. 

269.  When  the  quicks  are  all  transplanted  in  a  workmanlike 
manner,  the  hedge  is  by  no  means  finished.  Indeed,  this  is  but 
a  good  beginning.  From  five  to  ten  years,  according  to  the  soil, 
the  kind  of  plants  used,  the  kind  of  hedge  to  be  made,  and  the 
training  and  cultivation  it  receives,  will  require  strict  care  and 
protection,  to  render  it  an  impassable  barrier  to  stock.  The  first 
thing  will  be,  if  it  has  not  already  been  decided,  to  determine 


204  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

what  style  of   hedges  shall  be  adopted,   as  different   styles  of 
hedges  require  very  different  treatment. 

STYLE    OF    HEDGES. 

270.  Hedges  may  be  made  to  grow  in  almost  any  form  desired, 
but  it  is  always  best  to  imitate  nature,  as  far  as  convenient  and 
practicable  ;  and,  especially  it  is  best,  when  greater  efficiency  is 
secured  by  adopting  a  given  style.     The  tops  of  all  trees  and 
plants  assume  a  conical  form  more  than  any  other,  in  their  natu 
ral  state.     If  some  other  form  for  the  tops  of  trees  were  more 
desirable,  they  would  unquestionably  assume  that  form.      But, 
as  a  hedge  cannot  be  trained  in  a  conical  form,  we  must  adopt 
the  style  nearest  to  it, — that  of  a  pyramid.     The  quicks  are  trained 
to  a  single  stem,  sometimes,  for  a  few  feet  high,  and  then  the  top 
is  sheared  in  the  shape  of  a  pyramid.     Sometimes  two  or  three 
rows  of  quicks  are  transplanted  in  a  hedge  row,  in  which  instance 
they  are  trained  to  a  thick  mat,  as  it  were,  from  the  ground,  with 
sides  perpendicular,  sometimes,  for  a  few  feet  high,  and  then  of  a 
pyramidal  form  ;    and    sometimes  it   is  trained   of  a  pyramidal 
form  from  near  the  ground  to  the  top.     Sometimes  the  sides  are 
kept  perpendicular,  and  the  top  is  square  across,  or  flat.     But 
this  style  is  considered  objectionable  by  our  best  hedgers.     Some 
times  the  hedge  is  trained  or  sheared  in  the  shape  of  a  sharp- 
pointed  egg,  with  the  point  upwards.     But  whatever  style  may 
be  adopted, 

THE    PRUNING    AND    TRAINING 

271.  Must  be  attended  to  in  a  proper  season,  or  one  may  at 
once  abandon  the  idea  of  making  an  impassable  barrier  for  even 
small  stock.     "We  must  not  be  afraid  to  cut  off  a  fine  growth  of 
sprouts  for  fear  it  will  require  a  year  longer  for  them  to  attain  that 
height  again.     Depend  upon  it,  this  is  the  most  important  opera 
tion  in  rearing  hedges.     The  quicks  need  to  be  cut  off,  time  after 
time,  in  order  to  give  them  size  and  vigor.     If  they  are  allowed 
to  grow,  from  year  to  year,  without  being  cut  down,  the  hedge 
will  be  thin  in  places,  and  the  sprouts  will  be  tall,  slim,  and  easily 
demolished  by  animals. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  205 

272.  In  order  to  make  a  thick,  impenetrable  hedge  clear  to  the 
ground,  the  quicks  standing  in  three  rows,  as  has  been  previously 
stated,  should  all  be  cut  off  two  or  three  inches  from  the  ground, 
when  they  are  one  or  two  years  old.     It  is  desirable  that  they 
should  be  cut  off  with  some  instrument  which  gives  a  drawing 
cut,  as  a  crushing  cut  is  very  liable  to  injure  the  stems.     If  they 
grow  up  again   very  soon,  they  should   be  cut  off    again,  the 
same  season,  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  some  five  or  six  inches 
higher  than  the  first  cut.     At  every  cutting  a  thick  growth  of 
sprouts  is  produced,  which  interlace  each  other  so  closely  that  it 
is  difficult  for  a  small  bird  to  get  through  it.     If  any  sprouts 
shoot  off  laterally  several  inches  beyond  the  majority  of  the  side 
sprouts,  they  should  be  clipped.     The  sprouts  should  all  be  cut 
off  at  least  once   every  year,  six  or  eight  inches  higher  every 
year,  until  the  hedge  is  four  or  five  feet  high,  training  the  hedge 
in  the  form  of  a  pyramid.     (See  TOOLS  FO]j  PRUNING  HEDGES, 
Par.  360.) 

273.  Another  mode  of  training  is,  to  have  but  a  single  row,  and 
not  cut  off  the  tops  until  they  are  all  about  two  feet  high,  when 
the  limbs  are   all  interlaced  with   each  other,  by  hand,  and  the 
ends  of  those  which  grow  at  right  angles  to  the  hedge  row  are 
sheared  off  to  an  even  length,  making  the   body  of  the  hedge 
from  two  to  three  feet  through.     This  interlacing  the   limbs  is 
continued,  as  the  height  of  the  hedge  increases  from  year  to 
year,  until  it  is  five  or  six  feet  high,  when  the  top  is  simply 
pruned  in  the  form  of  a  pyramid. 

LAYING    AND    PLASHING. 

274.  "The  operation  consists  in  first  removing  the  thorns  and 
prickles,  and  cutting  away  all  the  needless  branches  and  stems, 
and  leaving  straight  upright  stems  in  the  middle  of  the  row. 
The  best  and  straightest  of  these  are  left  for  stakes,  and  their 
tops  are  cut  off  at  the  height  of  about  four  feet.     If  possible 
these  should  be  at  equal  distances  of  about  two  feet  apart ;   but 
as  they  cannot  always  be   had   so  regularly  distributed,  stakes 
may  be  driven  in  the  ground  to  supply  their  places.     The  rough- 


206  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

est  stems  are  then  cut  out,  and  those  that  are  left  are  bent  over 
to  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees,  and  a  hack  is  made  in 
them  near  the  surface  of  the  ground.  They  are  then  woven 
backwards  and  forwards  in  a  slanting  direction.  When  a  por 
tion  of  the  hedge  is  thus  treated,  long  slender  sticks  are  cut  and 
wattled  in  among  the  stakes,  within  an  inch  or  two  of  the  tops, 
by  twisting  backwards  and  forwards,  and  crossing  them  on  alter 
nate  sides  of  the  stakes.  The  live  stakes,  in  consequence  of 
being  surrounded  by  the  hedge,  are  apt  to  send  out  shoots  thickly 
at  the  tops,  and  not  below,  unless  prevented  by  being  cut  half 
through  at  the  ground.  Strong  leather  mittens,  with  long 
sleeves,  are  needed  by  the  man  who  does  the  work." — Albany 
Cultivator. 

01 

CULTIVATING    THE    SOIL    ALONG    HEDGES 

275.  Must  be  thoroughly  performed  yearly,  until  the  hedge  is 
large  enough  to  turn  cattle.  The  soil  should  be  plowed  every 
spring,  just  as  if  no  hedge  were  there,  and  some  hoed  crop  planted 
by  the  sides  of  it.  If  corn  be  planted  there,  a  row  of  potatoes, 
or  carrots,  beets,  turnips,  or  the  like,  should  be  planted  on  each 
side  of  the  hedge  between  the  corn  and  it,  never  nearer  to  it  than 
three  feet.  Let  a  horse  scarifier  be  run  along  the  hedge  row  as 
often  as  you  can  find  leisure  during  summer ;  and  keep  the  ground 
mellow  and  level,  and  free  from  grass  and  weeds,  during  the 
entire  growing  season.  Never  allow  plants  of  any  kind  to  cast 
their  seed  near  the  hedge  row.  If  weeds  or  thistles  are  allowed 
to  grow  among  the  quicks,  they  will  soon  choke  them,  and  pro 
duce  a  thin,  weak  place  in  the  hedge.  If  some  parts  of  the  hedge 
do  not  seem  to  grow  as  fast  as  others,  give  the  small  parts  of 
stinted  growth  a  liberal  dressing  of  well-rotted  chip  manure,  or 
sawdust,  or  well-prepared  compost,  and  work  it  in  with  a  hoe. 
If  the  soil  in  places  seems  to  be  so  hard  that  they  do  not  grow 
as  fast  as  other  parts  of  the  hedge,  let  mellow  dirt  be  spread  on 
each  side  two  or  three  inches  deep.  There  will  be  a  great  many 
times  during  the  growing  season,  when,  for  an  hour  or  two,  and 
perhaps  for  half  a  day,  the  work  hands  will  have  nothing  which 


THE  YOUNO  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  207 

they  can  do  advantageously.  Let  all  such  leisure  hours  be  occu 
pied  with  a  hoe  at  the  hedge.  Let  the  farmer  keep  an  eye  on 
the  hedge  and  see  that  it  is  not  neglected  in  autumn,  and  that  a 
lot  of  weeds  do  not  go  to  seed,  so  as  to  keep  one  weeding  for 
seven  years.  Remember,  that 

276.  "  One   year's    seeding    makes   seven    years'   weeding." 
Never  think  of  making  an  impenetrable  hedge  in  less  than  a 
decade  of  years,  when  only  a  little  strip  two  feet  wide  on  each 
side  of  the  hedge  is  scratched  over  a  little  once  or  twice  a  year. 
If  land  is  cheap,  and  it  is  no  object  to  cultivate  a  crop  by  the 
side  of  a  hedge,  let  the  work  of  cultivating  be  performed  with 
plow,   harrow  and  cultivator,   without  a  crop.      Another  thing 
which  is  too  commonly  neglected  is, 

PROTECTING  HEDGES  FROM  CATTLE, 

277.  While  they  are  too  small  to  protect  themselves.     Young 
steers,  especially,  and  bulls,  delight  to  plunge  into  a  hedge  row  to 
hook,  and  horses  and  sheep  like  to  nip  off  the  tender  shoots ; 
and,  if  it  is  not  protected  by  a  good  fence,  it  is  all  folly  to  attempt 
to  grow  a  hedge.     Nor  should  we  delay  to  fence  a  hedge  row 
for  the  first  year  or  two  ;  for  cattle  are  very  liable  at  any  time  to 
get  on  forbidden  ground,  when  they  would  quickly  make  irre 
parable  breaches  in  it.     Should  there  be  no  sheep  kept  on  the 
farm,  the   expense  of  protecting  a  hedge  would  be  trifling.     A 
fence  on  each  side  of  it,  like  Fig.  22,  even  if  the  posts  were  not 
of  the  most  durable  timber,  would  subserve  a  good  purpose  until 
the  hedge  should  be  strong  enough  to  turn  cattle  without  any  pro 
tection.     It  is  always  advisable  to  keep  cattle  away  from  hedges, 
until  there  can  be  no  risk  in  permitting  them  to  hook  into  it  to 
their  satisfaction. 

REPAIRING    HEDGES. 

278.  Should  a  breach  be  made  in  a  hedge,  or  should  it  become 
so  thin  and  weak  in  places  as  not  to  be  strong  enough  to  turn 
cattle,  if  the  stems  are  not  healthy,  it  would  be  best  to  remove 
them  entirely  for  a  few  feet  in  length,  and  commence  anew  with 

9* 


208  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

young  quicks ;  or,  if  thought  best,  the  stems  should  all  be  cut  off 
a  few  inches  from  the  ground,  when  new  sprouts  will  spring  up, 
which  must  be  treated  like  a  new  hedge  until  the  gap  is  securely 
closed.  Wherever  thin  spots  occur  in  a  hedge,  it  is  a  pretty 
sure  indication  that  the  soil  is  not  as  fertile  as  it  should  have 
been  made  previous  to  transplanting,  or  that  roots  of  the  quicks 
were  mutilated,  or  that  they  did  not  have  an  equal  chance  with 
the  rest  of  the  hedge. 

HEDGES    FOR   WET    GROUNDS. 

279.  It  is  frequently  the  case,  that  lands  on  the  borders  of 
rivers  and  lakes,  which  are  liable  to  inundation  in  the  spring  and 
in  autumn,  are  so  wet  that  none  but  aquatic  plants  would  flourish 
well  there.  In  such  localities  an  impenetrable  hedge  may  be 
made  in  a  very  few  years  with  the  branches  of  the  yellow  willow, 
or  of  any  other  kind  of  trees  the  limbs  of  which  will  take  root 
when  stuck  in  the  ground.  The  limbs  should  all  be  cut  of  a 
uniform  length,  say  five  or  six  feet  long,  with  a  saw,  as  an  axe  is 
very  liable  to  split  and  sliver  the  ends.  The  upper  ends  should 
be  sawed  off  slanting,  for  a  slanting  cut  will  heal  over  more 
readily  than  a  square  cut.  The  lower  ends  should  not  be  sharp 
ened  by  cutting  off  the  wood  all  around  them,  because  the  ends 
will  be  very  apt  to  rot  as  far  up  as  the  bark  is  all  taken  off,  and 
sometimes  farther,  endangering  the  life  of  the  plants.  But  the 
sharpening  should  all  be  done  on  one  side  of  the  limbs,  and  then 
roots  will  start  from  the  ends,  and  a  portion  of  the  lower  ends 
will  not  decay.  Take  the  limb  in  one  hand,  when  it  is  to  be 
sharpened,  and  set  it  on  a  block,  and  make  a  clean  slanting  cut, 
only  on  one  side.  Limbs  that  are  less  than  two  inches  in  diame 
ter  should  not  be  sharpened  at  all,  because  they  will  take  root 
all  round  better  than  if  they  were  sharpened.  Let  limbs  of  a 
uniform  size  be  planted  together,  and  never  stick  small  ones  and 
large  ones  indiscriminately  together,  lest  the  large  ones  overgrow 
the  small  ones.  Let  all  the  branches  remain  on  them  for  inter 
lacing,  except  such  as  grow  on  the  parts  which  are  to  be  below 
the 'surface  of  the  soil. 


THE   YOL'NiT    FARMKJi's   MANUAL.  209 

280.  In  sticking  them,  draw  a  line  and  make  the  holes  with  a 
crowbar,  directly  under  the  line,  about  ten  or  twelve  inches  apart. 
For  large  limbs  let  large  holes  be  made,  and  for  small  ones  do 
not  make  the  holes  so  large  and  deep  that  the  limbs  will  extend 
downward  so  that  the  lower  ends  will  all  decay.     If  they  are 
planted  ten  or  twelve  inches  in  depth,  unless  the  soil  is  very  deep, 
they  will  nourish  better  than  if  they  were  planted  twenty  or 
more  inches  deep.      Plunge   them  in  the  holes  to  the  desired 
depth,  with  the   hands,  and  never  drive  them.     If,  then,  any  of 
them  do  not  seem  to  stand  sufficiently  firm,  place  a  good  sod  on 
each  side  of  them,  and  stamp  it  down  well.     After  the  limbs  are 
all  stuck  let  the  branches  on  them  be  interlaced,  by  commencing 
at  the  bottom  and  weaving  them  back  and  forth,  forming  a  kind 
of  lattice  work.     Should  the  whole  seem  not  to  stand  very  firmly, 
let  long  slender  branches  from   the  trees  of  some  other  kind  of 
wood,  be  interwoven  at  the  tops.     Such  a  hedge  should  be  made 
early  in  the  spring  in  preference  to  the  fall ;   and  it  will  require 
shearing  at  least  once  a  year,  to  keep  it  even,  and  to  prevent  its 
growing  too  high. 

WHAT    KINDS    OF    PLANTS    ARE    USED    FOR    HEDGES. 

281.  "  The  selection  of  suitable  plants  for  hedges  depends,  in  a 
very  great  degree,  upon  the  locality.     In  some  localities  one  kind 
of  plants  will  flourish  very  luxuriantly,  and  make  the  best  of 
hedges,  while  only  a  few  hundred  miles  distant  from  such  location, 
that  kind  of  plants  will  not  succeed  at  all  in  hedge-making.     Some 
species  of  plants  are  not  at  all  adapted  to  the  climate  where  they 
are  to  be  used ;  while  some  others,  which  flourish  well  in  a  given 
climate,  are  so  liable  to  be  attacked  by  the  borer  or  bright,  as  to 
be  of  no  value  whatever  for  hedges.     The  English  hawthorn,  for 
example,  has  been  found  entirely  unsuited  to,  m,ost  parts  of  the. 
United  States.*     Some  plants  do  not  seem,  to  be  hardy  enough  tq 
endure,  without  injury,  the  extreme  cold  of  our  northern  winters  j 
and  such  plants,  although  they  may  have  a  great  reputation  for 

*  Albany  Cultivator. 


210  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

making  hedges,  in  some  localities,  should  be  tested  with  caution, 
where  any  doubts  are  entertained  of  their  success. 

282.  In  searching  for  information  in  regard  to  hedges  in  the 
agricultural  journals  of  the  present  day,  the  young  farmer  will  be 
puzzled,  beyond  measure,  to  know  what  to  do  in  regard  to  mak 
ing  a  hedge  of  any  kind.     One  article,  penned  by  a  man  who 
professes  to  have  been  successful  in  making  hedges,  will  state,  in 
most    unequivocal    language,     that    "every    farmer    may    raise 
hedges."     Another  writer,  of  very  reliable  authority,  will  assert, 
with  the  strongest  confidence,  that  it  is  by  no  means  practicable  for 
American  farmers  to  make  hedges,  with  a  view  of  enclosing  and 
dividing  their  fields,  which  shall  be  cattle  proof.     One  writer  will 
recommend  a  certain  plant  for  hedges,  with  the  most  confident  as 
surance  that  it  will  ultimately  be  universally  adopted  for  fencing 
the  western  prairies,  where  timber  is  not  abundant,  and  that  such 
a  plant  succeeds  for  hedges  remarkably  well ;  while,  on  the  con 
trary,  another  man  will  declare,  most  positively,  that  such  a  plant 
can  never  make  a  good  hedge ;  and  that  he  will  defy  the  world 
to  produce  a  solitary  instance  where  an  efficient  and  impenetrable 
hedge  has  been  made  of  that  kind  of  plant.     Amid  such  a  con 
flict  of  opinions,  on  a  subject  apparently  so  full  of  doubt  and  un 
certainty,  the  farmer  must  exercise  a  little  good  common  sense, 
and  let  the  bugbears  and  sharks  go  to  the  winds  that  brought 
them. 

283.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  there  are  miles  in  length  of  the 
most  efficient  and  impenetrable  hedge,  in  nearly  every  State  in 
the  Union,  through  which  an  American  bison  could  not  pass,  and 
which  has  been  produced  with  but  a  small  degree  of  expense  and 
care.     And,  if  a  few  enterprising  farmers  have  succeeded  in  mak 
ing  a  good  hedge,  the  arguments  and  assertions  against  hedges, 
of  a  man  who  has  failed  to  produce  a  good  hedge,  from  utter  neglect, 
or  from  local  causes,  should  have  no  influence  in  deterring  the 
young  farmer  from  making  a  hedge,  if  he  desires  one. 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL.  211 


RED    CEDAR   FOR    HEDGES. 

"  On  barren  cliffs,  the  hardy  cedars  red, 
Clinging  to  crevices,  lift  up  their  heads." — TUPEEB." 

284.  The  red  cedar  is  acknowledged,  by  the  most  reliable  au 
thority,  to  be  one  of  the  best  plants  in  America,  for  both  orna 
mental  and  field  hedges.     It  has  more  desirable  qualities  to  recom 
mend  it   than  any  other  known  plant  which  is  used  for  making 
hedges.     If  it  only  lore  thorns,  it  would  be  incomparably  better 
for  hedges  than  any  other  plant  whose  merits  have  been  thor 
oughly  tested  as  a  hedge  plant.      It   is  extremely  hardy,  and 
adapts  itself  to  both  barren  and  fertile  soils,  although  it  flourishes 
on  a  rich  soil  as  much  better,  as  any  other  plant ;  and  it  attains  a 
great  age,  is  as  highly  ornamental  as  the  most  fastidious  can  desire  ; 
and  is  not  liable  to  blight,  or  winter-kill,  or  to  be  injured  by  in 
sects.     No  other  plant  bears  shearing  any  better,  or  with  less 
injury,  than  the  cedar ;  and  a  hedge  of  this  kind  of  plants  may 
be  sheared  into  almost  any  form  with  great  facility. 

285.  The  best  mode  of  obtaining  the  young  plants  is,  to  gather 
the  berries  or  seed  as  late  in  autumn  as  possible,  before  the  ground 
freezes,  and  sow  them  in  drills,  covered  about  one  inch  deep  with 
some  very  light  mellow  earth.     But  few  seeds  will  vegetate  the 
first  season,  but  if  the  soil  be  kept  well  cultivated  and  free  from 
noxious  weeds  during  the  growing  season,  the  second  season  they 
will  appear  in  abundance.     If  the  soil  be  deep,  mellow,  and  rich, 
they  will  grow  from  one  to  two  feet  in  height  the  first  season ;  if 
the  soil  is  rather  poor,  and  the  little  quicks  are  obliged  to  grow  or 
die  among  weeds,  if  they  grow  six  inches  high  the  first  season,  it 
will  be  all  that  can  be  expected.     The  plants  should  be  thinned 
out  when  they  stand  too  thick,  and  transplanted  in  rows  for  a  year 
or  two.     When  they  are  from  two  to  three  feet  high,  they  should 
be  planted  out  for  hedges,  in  soil  prepared  as  recommended,  as 
early  in  the  spring  as  it  will  answer  to  work  in  the  soil.     If  they 
are  set  in  only  one  row,  they  should  be  not  less  than  twenty  inches 
apart,  and  if  in  two  rows,  two  feet  apart,  with  the  plants  of  one  row 


212  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

opposite  to  the  spaces  of  the  other  row.  Let  all  the  limbs  on  all 
the  insides  of  the  trees  be  interlaced,  as  neatly  as  may  be ;  and 
let  the  limbs  on  the  sides  of  the  hedge  row  be  sheared  to  a  uniform 
length,  from  six  to  twelve  inches  in  length,  according  to  the  length 
of  the  limbs.  During  the  first  and  second  seasons,  or  perhaps 
longer  if  necessary,  let  the  tops  be  sheared  of  a  uniform  height. 
As  the  hedge  grows  higher,  let  the  inside  limbs  be  interwoven 
from  tree  to  tree,  backwards  and  forwards ;  and  do  not  fail  to  keep 
the  soil  well  cultivated  on  both  sides  of  the  hedge  row,  for  at  least 
six  or  eight  feet  on  each  side.  If  everything  is  performed  in  a 
workmanlike  manner,  a  complete  lattice-work,  impenetrable  by  any 
domesticated  animal,  will  be  formed  in  a  few  years. 

286.  As  the  red  cedar  bears  no  thorns,  and  as  cattle  are  so 
much  inclined  to  hook  and  thrust  about  in  evergreen  plants,  the 
red  cedar  may,  upon  trial,  succeed  better  by  training  the  young 
trees  to  bare  stems  about  four  feet  high,  and  then  allow  the  tops 
to  branch  out,  so  as  to  be  sheared  in  the  form  of  a  pyramid,  or  in 
the  shape  of  an  egg,  with  the  little  end  upwards. — (See  paragraph 
270.)     In  this  style  of  training  the  inside  limbs  should  be  in 
terlaced,  from  a  point  two  feet  above  the  ground  to  the  top  of  the 
hedge. 

287.  A  little  skill   and    judgment,   and   the   exercise   of   a 
little  common  sense,  are  indispensably  requisite  in  pruning  the 
young  cedars.     If  the  trees  are  two  or  three  feet  high  it  will  not 
answer  to  cut  off  all  the  limbs  the  first  season,  and  leave  but  a 
little  bush  at  the  top.     The  first  season  that  they  are  transplanted 
in  the  hedge  row,  the  lower  limbs,  for  about  six  inches  along  the 
bottom  of  the  stems,  may  be  cut  close  with  a  sharp  knife  ;    and 
if  the  limbs  above  this  point  be  more  than  a  foot  long,  the  ends 
may  be  clipped  off  to  a  foot  in  length  on  each  side.     The  next 
spring  trim  off  the  limbs  a  few  inches  higher,  close  to  the  st&ms. 
If  the  plants  have   grown  six  inches  or  more  in  height,  it  may 
answer,  if  there  is  an  abundance  of  limbs,  to  cut  off  smoothly  all 
the  limbs  for  six  inches  more.     The  growth  of   the  plants  up 
wards  will  usually  determine  how  much  of  the  limbs  may  be  cut 
off  below  in  one  season. 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  213 

THE    YELLOW    AND    HONEY    LOCUST    FOB    HEDGES. 

"  The  fair  Queen  of  Spring,  as  she  passed  down  the  vale, 
Quaffed  the  nectar  of  locusts  in  every  mild  gale  : 
Its  fragrance  and  odor  replenished  each  breeze, 
And  lily-white  glory  environed  the  trees." — CAMPBELL. 

288.  The  yellow  locust  and  honey  locust  are  indigenous  in  the 
United  States,  and  nourish  luxuriantly  in  almost  every  locality 
where  there  is  not  an  excess  of  water  in  the  soil  where  they  are 
planted.  They  are  among  the  most  beautiful  ornamental  trees, 
and  when  in  full  bloom  the  yellow  locust  seems  most  delightful. 
Both  of  the  kinds  already  mentioned  are  very  hardy  and  great 
feeders,  the  roots  of  the  yellow  locust  growing  to  an  almost  in 
credible  length  in  one  season.  The  honey  locust  bears  bunches 
of  long  and  sharp  thorns,  from  two  to  three  inches  in  length, 
presenting  such  an  ugly  appearance  as  to  deter  almost  any  ani 
mal,  man  not  excepted,  from  climbing  up  into  it ;  but  the  thorns 
of  the  yellow  locust  are  small  and  short,  and  deciduous  on  the 
main  stem  and  limbs  of  the  trees  when  they  are  a  few  years  old. 
The  honey  locust  is  said  to  be  a  very  common  tree  in  the  forests 
of  some  of  the  "Western  States,  and  when  found  on  rich  bottom 
lands,  it  attains  a  growth  equal  in  height  to  most  other  trees 
which  surround  it.  The  timber  of  the  honey  locust  is  somewhat 
hard,  and  rather  porous,  and  is  sometimes  made  use  of  for  cabinet 
purposes,  and  sometimes  for  posts  and  rails  for  building  fences. 
The  timber  of  the  yellow  locust,  of  thrifty  trees,  is  remarkably 
tough  and  firm,  and  durable  when  exposed  to  the  influences  of 
the  weather.  On  account  of  its  excellence  in  resisting  the  action 
of  moisture,  it  is  used  in  preference  to  almost  any  other  timber 
for  pins  and  wedges,  and  such  like,  in  ship-building.  For  fence 
posts  it  is  not  inferior  in  point  of  durability  to  white  oak,  and  for 
carriage  hubs  it  is  not  inferior  to  the  best  of  birch.  In  some 
localities  the  yellow  locusts  have  been  entirely  destroyed  by  the 
ravages  of  the  borer  and  the  large  green  caterpillar.  But  the 
borer  seldom  attacks  any  other  part  of  the  tree  excepting-  the 
body,  for  six  or  eight  feet  from  the  ground.  But  if  the  epidermis 
or  dead  part  of  the  bark  be  all  scraped  off  or  shaved  off,  to  the 


214  THE   YOUNG   FAKMER'S   MANUAL. 

live  bark,  once  in  four  or  five  years,  or  as  often  as  any  signs  of 
the  borer  are  discovered,  and  the  bodies  of  the  trees  smeared 
with  a  daubing  made  of  three  parts  of  pitch  or  rosin,  and  one 
part  of  tallow,  melted  together  and  applied  warm  with  a  brush, 
the  borer  will  be  most  effectually  excluded. 

289.  Neither  the  yellow  locust  nor  honey  locust  have  been 
tested  satisfactorily  for  hedging  purposes.     It  has  been  used  to  a 
limited  extent  in  a  few  instances,  and  there  are  at  the  present 
day  many  young  hedges  of  both  kinds  which  promise  to  be  in  a 
few  years  most  impenetrable  barriers  against  any  kind  of  stock. 
I  am  able  to  discover  no  good  reason  why  the  locust  may  not  be 
used  most  successfully  for  hedges,  with  proper  treatment  and  care. 
It  grows  quickly  even  on  poor  soils  ;  is  easily  propagated  ;   bears  ' 
shearing  extremely  well ;    and  is  very  tenacious  of  life.     The 
locust  will  probably  succeed  better  when  planted  in  a  single  row 
and  plashed,  than  in  two  or  three  rows  and  trained  in  a  mat 
hedge.     The  locust  nourishes  best  solitary  ;  and  when  the  art  of 
hedge-making  shall  arrive  to  greater  perfection,  the  locust  will 
rank  among  the  first  plants  for  hedges. 

290.  Both  kinds  of  locust  bear  seed  contained  in  long  pods, 
which  may  be  gathered  late  in  autumn  and  kept  in  a  dry  apart 
ment  until  the  succeeding  spring,  when,  to  insure  their  vegeta 
tion,  the  seed  is  put  in  a  vessel  of  some  kind  and  boiling  hot 
water  poured  on  them  while  they  are  stirred  lively  for  a  few  mo 
ments,  and  then  allowed  to  remain  in  the  water  for  a  day  and  a 
night,  when  most  of  them  will  be  swollen  to  twice  their  original 
size.     All  such  seed  is  sure  to  grow  if  planted  in  a  soil  that  will 
produce  good  corn,  and  covered  about  as  corn  is  covered  when 
planted.     Those  seeds  which  have  not  swollen  during  the  opera 
tion  should  be  treated  in  the  same  manner  the  second  time.     The 
object  of  scalding  the  seeds  is  to  soften  the  hard  and  tough  skin 
which  envelops  the  germ,  so  that  moisture  can  enter  the  seed. 
If  the  seed  is  planted  as  soon  as  it  has  arrived  to  maturity  early 
in  autumn,  before  the  skin  on  them  becomes  so  dry  and  tough, 
most  of  them  will  vegetate  in  the  succeeding  spring,  when  they 
may  be  treated  as  has  been  recommended. 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


215 


THE    OSAGE    ORANGE    FOB   HEDGES. 

291.  The  Osage  Orange,  a  cut  of  which  is  here  shown  (taken 
from   the   Albany  Cultivator,)  has   been   used    extensively  for 

FIG.  96. 


OSAGE  OBANGK. 


hedges,  so  that  its  success  is  no  longer  attended  with  doubt.     It 
is  found  wild  in  Arkansas,  Mexico,  Mississippi  and  some  other 


216 

States,  where  it  grows  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  high.  It  flour 
ishes  well  in  most  of  the  States  and  Territories,  and  with  proper 
treatment  has  never  failed  to  make  an  impenetrable  hedge. 
Many  failures  have  been  reported  respecting  the  Osage  for 
hedges,  but  in  all  probability  the  failures  could  be  traced  to 
improper  management,  such  as  neglecting  to  shear  down  and  to 
keep  the  soil  in  good  condition,  or  assorting  the  quicks  and  trans 
planting  them  properly.  "We  need  apprehend  no  failure  in  mak 
ing  a  first-rate  hedge  of  the  Osage,  if  the  course  is  strictly  fol 
lowed  which  has  been  marked  out  in  the  preceding  pages. 

We  copy  from  the  American  Farmers1  Encyclopedia  the  follow 
ing  description  of  the  Osage  Orange :  "  It  is  very  branching, 
each  branch  being  armed  with  numerous  sharp  thorns.  The 
wood  is  remarkably  tough  and  solid.  The  male  and  female 
flowers  are  on  separate  trees.  The  fertile,  or  female  tree,  bears 
fruit  abundantly  in  a  few  years.  These  are  round  and  rough, 
and  greenish  colored,  resembling  somewhat  an  orange,  and  weigh 
ing  from  twelve  to  eighteen  ounces,  containing  from  one  hundred 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  seeds." 

292.  The  best  manner  for  any  one  to  obtain  the  quicks  for 
hedges  is,  to  procure  the  seed  in  some  locality  where  the  Osage 
flourishes  in  a  wild  state,  and  sow  them  in  autumn  in  well-pre 
pared  ground.  The  seed,  like  many  other  kinds  of  seed,  will 
vegetate  better  after  having  been  exposed  to  the  frosts  of  winter 
in  the  soil.  It  is  said  that  there  are  about  eight  thousand  seeds 
in  one  quart,  and  that  they  may  be  obtained  in  Arkansas  for  the 
mere  expense  of  gathering  them.  When  they  are  obtained  of 
nurserymen  the  cost  is  from  two  to  four  dollars  per  quart.  It  is 
recommended  by  some  farmers  to  scald  the  seeds  of  the  Osage  in 
the  spring,  at  the  time  of  planting  them.  Hedges  made  of  the 
Osage  Orange  require  trimming  twice  a  year,  and  some,  who 
have  experimented  with  it  extensively,  say  that  three  trimmings 
are  necessary  in  one  season.  The  farmer  must  exercise  a  little 
judgment  with  reference  to  trimming  a  hedge.  Should  the 
growth  be  small,  it  would  not  be  proper  to  cut  off  as  much  as  if 
there  were  a  very  great  growth. 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  217 


BUCKTHORN    FOR   HEDGES. 

"  What  a  thorny  maze  we  tread  I 
Thorns  beneath  and  overhead  I 
How  they  pierce,  and  scratch,  and  tear  1 
Cursed  thorns  grow  everywhere." — HAMLET. 

293.  The  buckthorn  is  pronounced  by  some  writers  to  be  the 
most  suitable  plant  for  hedges  that  can  be  found  in  the  United 
States.     It  makes  an  efficient  and  impenetrable  hedge  when  prop 
erly  treated,  and  grows  very  rapidly,  is  very  hardy,  and  almost 
entirely  exempt    from  disease  and  from  the  attacks  of  insects. 
There  are  hedges  of  the  buckthorn  in  some  of  the  older  States, 
which  have  subserved  the  purpose  of  an  impenetrable  fence  for 
more  than  forty  years,  and  are  now  free  from  gaps  and  weak 
places.     The  buckthorn  bears  pruning  very  extensively  without 
any  apparent  injury,  and  is  never  injured  by  the  most  intense 
cold  of  winter.     It  vegetates  early  in  the  spring,  and  does  not 
cast  off  its  verdure  until  late  in  autumn. 

294.  The  figure  here  shown   represents  a  branch  of  the  buck 
thorn.     The  seed  may  be  sown  early  in  autumn  in  mellow  soil, 
covered  about  one  inch  deep,  when  most  of  them  will  vegetate 
the  next  spring,  if  the  seed  is  good.     It  is  best  to  have  at  'least 
two  rows,  or  three,  in  a  hedge  row  of  buckthorn,  and  train  them 
by  shearing  down,  so  that  the  hedge  will  be  an  impenetrable  mat 
clear  to  the  ground.  . 

There  are  several  other  kinds  of  thorns,  such  as  the  "Washing 
ton,  Newcastle,  Hawthorn,  and  some  others,  which  have  been 
used  for  hedges,  and  sometimes  successfully ;  but  they  are  so 
liable  to  be  affected  by  blight,  or  insects,  or  something  else  which 
is  very  injurious  to  them,  that  it  is  not  safe,  except  in  a  few  locali 
ties,  to  experiment  with  them.  The  various  kinds  of  thorn  are 
propagated  by  gathering  the  haws  or  seed,  and  divesting  them 
of  the  skin  and  pulpy  matter,  and  sowing  them  in  the  fall,  so 
that  they  may  freeze  and  thaw  during  the  winter. 


218  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

FlG.   97. 


BUCKTHORN. 


RECAPITULATION    AND    GENERAL    REMARKS. 

295.  After  the  farmer  has  fully  concluded  to  raise  a  hedge,  let 
him  secure  good  seed,  which  is  generally  distinguished  from   an 


THE  YOUNG  FARMERS  MANUAL.  219 

inferior  quality  of  seed  by  its  weight.  Poor  seed  is  usually 
rather  light,  and  feels  dry  to  the  touch,  while  good,  plump,  bright 
and  heavy  seed  seems  to  be  colder,  when  handled,  than  it  really  is. 
Let  all  seed  that  is  more  than  one  year  old  be  rejected,  and  none 
but  new  seed  sown.  Bear  in  mind,  that  as  seed  advances  in  age 
it  looses  its  vitality.  Seed  is  many  times  injured,  and  often  the 
vitality  is  entirely  destroyed,  in  preparing  it  for  use.  The  pulpy 
matter  which  encircles  the  seed  is  usually  removed  by  placing 
them  where  they  will  rot  gradually,  and  afterwards  washing  the 
pulpy  substance  from  the  seed,  and  then  by  spreading  out  the 
seed  where  they  will  dry.  But  they  should  not  be  allowed  to 
become  too  dry,  as  that  will  injure  the  germ.  If  they  are  per 
mitted  to  lie,  while  rotting,  in  piles  so  large  or  deep  that  they 
will  heat  and  mould,  the  germs  of  such  seed  will  be  liable  to  be 
destroyed.  I  must  be  allowed  to  insist  that  it  is  important  that 
every  farmer  grow  his  own  quicks,  on  soil  of  about  the  same 
quality  of  that  where  the  hedge  is  to  stand.  (See  Par.  264.) 

296.  When  the  quicks  are    cut  off  in  autumn  it  would  be 
a  good  practice  to  have  a  vessel  of  equal  parts  of  melted  pitch  or 
rosin,  and  tallow,  and  smear  the  ends  with  it,  applied  with  a  paint 
brush.     The  most  expeditious  mode  of  doing  it  would  be,  to  hold 
as  many  in  one  hand  as  is  convenient,  and  then  apply  the  brush. 
Even  after  the  quicks  have  been  transplanted,  a  man  with  a  small 
brush  would  smear  the  ends  of  a  long  row  in  a  few  hours.      It 
would  not  be  practicable  to  perform  such  an  operation  after  the 
first  shearing,  or  cutting  down,  on  account  of  the  great  number 
of  stubs,  although  such  an  application  will  be  found  very  useful 
in  preventing  the  stumps  from  drying  and  cracking,  to  the  injury 
of  the  quicks.     Any  instrument,  in  pruning,  shearing,  or  slashing, 
which  cuts  the   stems  square  off,  with  a  crushing  instead   of  a 
drawing  stroke  or  cut,  is  quite   apt  to  shiver  the  butts  or  stumps 
of  the  quicks,  so  that  they  will  not  heal  as  readily  as  if  they  had 
been  cut  with  a  slanting  and  drawing  cut.     (See  Par.  543.) 

297.  On  the  subject  of  pruning,  too  much  care  cannot  be  taken, 
for  rules  and  practices  which  would  be  all-important  for  raising 
an  efficient  hedge  in  one  locality,  would  be  very  deleterious  to  a 


220  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

hedge  in  another  region.  In  some  regions  the  sprouts  cf  the 
Osage  Orange  grow  so  rapidly  as  to  attain  the  height  of  four  to 
seven  feet  in  one  season,  while  in  other  places  they  would  not 
grow  as  many  inches.  Where  they  grow  so  rapidly  the  roots 
become  proportionably  strong,  and  shearing  must  be  resorted  to. 
But  when  the  growth  is  very  small,  and  the  stems  slender  and 
weakly,  it  might  be  the  wisest  policy  to  allow  them  to  grow  un 
molested  for  one  season.  It  is  not  easy  for  one  to  tell,  with  pen 
and  ink  alone,  whether  a  hedge  should  or  should  not  be  cut  down 
at  a  certain  stage  of  its  growth.  Sometimes  it  might  be  very 
advisable  to  trim  or  shear  a  hedge  twice  in  one  season ;  but  the 
probability  is,  that  in  our  climate  it  is  best  to  clip  but  once  a 
year,  and  the  best  and  most  natural  season  for  this  operation 
would  seem  to  be  in  the  spring.  I  know  many  recommend  late 
autumn,  and  others  the  month  of  July,  for  this  purpose,  as  being 
the  best,  but  it  appears  to  me  that  unless  the  ends  of  the  quicks 
are  smeared  with  something  to  prevent  the  weather  from  drying 
them,  it  would  be  best  to  do  it  in  the  spring,  about  the  time  the 
buds  begin  to  enlarge  a  little.  If  some  of  the  quicks  grow  too 
rapidly  during  the  summer,  the  top  ends  may  be  pinched  off  a  lit 
tle.  This  will  check  the  tendency  to  shoot  upward  tall  and 
slim,  and  will  tend  to  enlarge  the  stem  and  side  branches.  If  it 
is  desirable  to  have  limbs  clear  to  the  ground,  the  side  branches 
should  not  be  clipped  until  they  have  grown,  laterally,  not  less 
than  two  feet  on  each  side  of  the  row.  In  order  to  have  the 
branches  low,  the  quicks  must  be  clipped  near  the  ground  the 
first  time  they  are  cut  off.  If  they  are  clipped  high  the  first  time, 
it  will  be  impossible  to  produce  limbs  near  the  ground,  unless  the 
whole  top  is  cut  down,  when,  if  the  roots  are  strong  and  healthy, 
many  sprouts  will  start  from  the  stumps,  both  upward  and  hori 
zontally.  (See  Par.  301,  302.) 

298.  Hedges  oftener  prove  a  failure  in  consequence  of  neglect 
than  from  any  other  cause.  .Hedges  cannot  grow,  they  will  not 
grow  well  among  weeds  and  grass,  and  those  who  expect  them 
to  flourish  will  be  most  certainly  disappointed.  The  soil  on  each 
side  must  be  kept  loose,  mellow  and  clean,  for  at  least  half  a  rod 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  221 

from  the  hedge  row.  When  only  a  narrow  strip  of  two  feet  or 
so  on  each  side  is  scratched  over  occasionally,  it  would  be  no 
more  beneficial,  in  many  localities,  than  if  the  soil  were  not 
broken  at  all.  On  prairies  and  bottom  lands,  where  the  soil  is 
deep,  always  mellow,  and  fertile,  preparing  the  soil  as  recom 
mended  in  paragraph  261  is  not  so  very  important  as  on  stub 
born,  clayey  and  calcareous  soils,  in  which  localities  the  directions 
should  be  followed  up  to  the  very  letter. 

299.  I  have  never,  as  yet,  met  with  any  writings  in  which  it 
was  recommended  to  transplant  the  quicks  as  suggested  in  par. 
268.     The  more  usual  practice  is  to  dibble  them  in  with  a  kind 
of  paddle,  or  to  thrust  in  a  spade  where  a  quick  is  to  be  set,  and, 
thrusting  the  handle  forward,  the  quick  is  set  behind  the  spade  in 
a  wedge-shaped  hole,  without  any  spreading  of  the  roots.     But 
it  seems  to  me  that,  if  it  would  pay  in  transplanting  fruit-trees, 
which  none  will  deny,  to  spread  out  the  roots,  it  would  be  time 
profitably  spent  in  transplanting  the  quicks  for  a  hedge  in  the 
most  workmanlike  manner.     According  to  the  modus  operandi 
in  par.  268,  a  long  line  of  hedge  could  be  put  out  in  a  day  by  a 
faithful  laborer  and  a  small  lad  ;    and  in  such  soil  as  we  find,  for 
the  most  part,  in  central  and  western  New  York,  and  in  some 
of  the  New  England  States,  no    one  who    is  acquainted  with 
their  character,  and  with  the  most  proper  manner  of  working 
them,  will  wish  to  deny   that  this  is  the  better  mode  of  trans 
planting  the  quicks.     It  is  most  certain  that  the  more  the  roots 
of  a  tree  or  quick  are   spread  out,  in  transplanting,  the  better 
the  tree  is  transplanted ;  and  the  more  they  are  crowded  into 
a  small  compass,  the  less  liable  they  are  to  flourish  luxuriantly 
for  the  first   year  or  two  after  transplanting.       If   a  quick  has 
side-roots,  nature   and   common   sense  teach  us  that  it  is  better 
to  spread  them  and   extend  them  in  their  full  length,  than  to 
double  them  and  crowd  them  into  a  small  hole. 

300.  The  proper  distances  apart  for  plants  to  be  set,  is  a  very 
important  question  in  growing  a  good  hedge.     For  my  own  part, 
I  am  fully  persuaded  that  hedgers,  as  a  general  rule,  plant  too 
close.     It  is  a  most  common  fault,  in  transplanting  all  kinds  of 


222  THE  YOUNG  FAKMEK's  MANUAL. 

fruit-trees,  to  •  plant  too  dose  together ;  and,  although  very  close 
planting  is  recommended,  on  good  authority,  for  hedges,  it  is 
my  candid  conviction  that  if  those  hedgers  who  advocate  and 
adhere  to  very  close  planting,  and  who  succeed  well  in  raising 
efficient  hedges  when  planted  very  close  together,  would  plant 
the  quicks  farther  apart,  they  would  meet  with  still  better  suc 
cess  than  they  do  in  very  close  planting.  No  one  will  deny 
that  quicks  for  hedges  may  be  planted  too  closely  together,  and 
we  all  acknowledge,  without  any  argument,  that  it  is  not  diffi 
cult,  in  the  least,  to  plant  them  too  far  apart.  Now,  then,  if 
there  is  a  point  beyond  which,  in  one  direction,  it  may  be  said 
the  quicks  are  too  near  together,  and,  in  the  opposite  direction, 
they  are  too  far  apart,  that  is  the  point  which  will  determine 
most  accurately  the  most  proper  distance  apart  for  transplant 
ing  the  quicks,  in  order  to  make  the  best  and  most  efficient 
hedge.  The  distance  that  might  properly  be  called  close  plant 
ing  when  one  kind  of  plants  is  used,  might  not  be  said  to  be 
too  close  for  another  plant.  The  kind  of  plants  used  always 
should,  in  a  great  measure,  determine  the  proper  distance  for  the 
plants  to  be  set  apart.  We  consider  eight  inches  apart  too  dose 
for  any  plants,  and  for  any  style  of  hedge,  although  some  hedgers 
advocate  a  distance  of  only  four  and  six  inches  apart.  -But 
when  plants  are  set  so  very  close  together,  the  shoots  are  very 
apt  to  be  small  and  slender,  with  not  sufficient  space  for  the  lat 
eral  branches  to  attain  suitable  size  for  consistent  strength  ;  and, 
more  than  all  else  beside,  when  they  are  crowded  so  closely 
together  they  are  quite  liable  to  die,  in  consequence  of  being  de 
prived,  by  those  on  each  side  of  them,  of  their  necessary  nourish 
ment  at  the  roots.  We  consider  one  foot  sufficiently  dose  for 
any  plants  in  a  hedge  row,  and  for  some  plants  one  foot  apart  is 
just  twice  as  close  as  they  should  be.  When  plants  are  set 
closer  than  one  foot,  or  even  one  foot  and  a  half,  let  a  few  plants 
be  placed  in  a  row  at  such"  distances  apart,  and  see  how  little 
space  they  have  for  branching  out.  Look,  for  example,  at  the 
sprouts  around  stumps  which  stand  very  close  to  each  other. 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  223 

They  are  tall,  slim,  and  not  half  as  strong  as  they  would  be  if 
they  were  not  half  as  numerous ;  and,  more  than  all  else,  their 
lateral  branches,  if  there  are  any  at  all,  are  very  slender,  and  will 
very  soon  decay ;  whereas,  if  the  plants  stood  twenty  or  thirty 
inches  apart,  the  lateral  branches — which  give  the  greatest 
efficiency  to  a  hedge — will  be  large,  strong,  and  not  liable  to  pre 
mature  decay,  as  in  close  planting.  It  is  better  to  have  one 
strong,  healthy,  lateral  branch,  than  three,  or  even  four  branches 
in  the  same  space,  which  are  slender  and  liable  to  decay  in  con 
sequence  of  close  planting.  Strong,  stiff,  lateral  branches,  with 
the  ends  clipped  off,  and  having  thorns  on  their  sides,  are  very 
repulsive  things  for  stock  of  any  kind  to  plunge  into.  But  when 
all  the  sprouts  grow  erect  and  slender  and  smooth,  bullocks  with 
very  long  horns  will  delight  in  the  fun  of  thrashing  them  to  the 
ground.  Any  one  who  is  well  acquainted  with  the  habits  of  the 
red" cedar,  or  the  hemlock,  or  American  arbor  vitee,  will,  I  doubt 
not,  fully  coincide  with  me,  that  when  planted  very  close  to 
gether  they  could  not  be  relied  upon  for  making  an  efficient  and 
impassable  hedge ;  but  if  transplanted  at  about  thirty  inches 
apart,  they  will  make,  in  some  localities,  a  more  efficient  and 
impassable  and  durable  hedge  than  any  other  plant  which  has 
as  yet  been  successfully  cultivated  for  hedges.  Of  these  three 
plants  last  mentioned,  the  red  cedar  is  most  preferable.  The 
honey  locust,  the  yellow  locust,  the  Osage  orange,  and,  in  fact, 
almost  every  other  plant  which  has  been  and  is  now  cultivated 
for  hedges,  will  flourish  best  when  standing  nearly  or  quite  soli 
tary.  Therefore,  to  close  this  subject,  we  lay  it  down  as  our  can 
did  conviction,  that  all  the  plants  just  mentioned  will  flourish 
better,  be  more  durable,  be  stronger,  less  liable  to  premature  de 
cay,  be  trained  with  less  difficulty,  make  an  impassable  fence 
sooner,  be  kept  within  the  desired  limits  assigned  for  the  width 
and  height  of  the  hedge,  after  the  hedge  is  completed,  and  be 
grown  at  a  much  less  expense,  and  by  laborers  possessing  infe 
rior  skill  in  the  business  of  hedging,  when  the  plants  are  set  from 
sixteen  to  twenty  inches  apart,  in  some  instances  thirty  inches, 
than  if  they  were  set  from  six  to  twelve  inches  apart.  I  have 
10 


224  THE  YOUNG 

planted  some  red  cedars  for  a  hedge  fence,  and  I  place  them 
thirty  inches  apart,  believing  that  at  that  distance  they  will  make 
a  better  hedge  than  if  set  any  closer  to  each  other. 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    PRUNING. 

301.  Why  do  we  prune  trees  and  plants?     Trees  and  plants 
are  pruned  for  several  reasons.     They  are  pruned  sometimes  for 
the  purpose  of  removing  the  dead  branches,  and  sometimes  to 
make  a  tree  grow  higher,  and  sometimes  to  make  it  grow  broader 
and  lower ;  and  sometimes  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  fruit 
grow  larger  and  fairer,  by  removing  the  redundant  branches.     If 
the  ends  of  all  the  limbs  of  a  tree  should  be  clipped  off  two  or 
three  times  during  the  growing  season,  and  they  were  not  allowed 
to  grow  only  so  high  and  so  far  laterally,  a  tree  would  soon  send 
out  sprouts  or  suckers  all  over  the  limbs,  and  in  a  few  years  a 
tree  would  be  a  complete  mat  of  brush.      If  all  the  topmost 
branches  are  clipped  off  about  as  fast  as  the  ends  grow,  the  greatest 
part  of  the  sap  will  be  driven  or  thrown  into  the  lateral  branches, 
and  they  will  shoot  off  horizontally  with  great  rapidity.     On  the 
contrary,  if  one  bud  or  stem  is  allowed  to  shoot  up  in  the  centre  of 
the  top,  and  all  the  others  are  kept  back  by  clipping  off  the  ends 
as  fast  as  they  grow,  there  will  be  an  unusual  amount  of  sap  flow 
ing  to  this  centre  stem,  and  it  will  run  up  tall  and  slim.     When 
young  fruit-trees  are  inclined  to  grow  slim  and  tall,  we  clip  off 
the  top  buds,  which  will  throw  the  sap  into  the  lateral  branches, 
and  the  trees  will  begin  to  thicken.      Although  pruning  fruit- 
trees  is  not  intimately  connected  with  the  subject  of  this  section, 
still  I  cannot  forbear  to  notice,  briefly,  some  things  connected  with 
pruning  trees. — (See  Figs.  125  and  150,  TOOLS  FOR  PRUNING.) 

302.  In  forming  a  head  to  young  fruit-trees,  the  young  farmer 
should  aim  to  have  one  stem  run  up  in  the  centre  of  the  tree,  and 
then  a  system  of  two  or  three  or  four  limbs  extending  horizontally 
from  the  upright  stem,  about  thirty  or  forty  inches  apart,  clear  to 
the  top  of  the  tree.     The  first  system  of  branches  should  be  about 
five  or  six  feet  from  the  ground.     If  they  should  be  inclined  to 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  225 

sag  down  too  much,  they  might  be  well  shored  up,  or  tied  up  with 
wires  extending  from  the  top  of  the  tree  to  them,  during  the 
growing  season,  when  they  would  probably  remain  in  that  posi 
tion. 

303.  It  is  bad  policy  to  allow  trees  to  grow  at  random  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  then  give  them  a  severe  pruning.     It  in 
jures  a  fruit-tree  to  cut  off  a  large  limb  as  much  as  it  hurts  a  man 
to  have  a  limb  amputated.     Fruit-trees  should  always  be  pruned 
so  that  a  man  can  easily  get  around  in  the  tops  of  them,  without 
the  assistance  of  a  ladder.     Small  branches  should  be  left  all  along 
large  limbs,  so  that  a  person  may  go  on  them  when  plucking  fruit. 
Many  people  have  clipped  off  all  the  branches  on  the  large  limbs 
of  their  apple-trees,  so  that  nothing  but  a  bare  limb  is  left  for  ten 
or  fourteen  feet,  with  the  fruit  branches  all  at  the  ends  of  the 
limbs.     This  is  a  very  objectionable  manner  of  pruning.     The 
heads  or  tops  of  fruit-trees  should  always  be  formed  as  low  as 
will  be  practicable,  and  not  be  too  inconvenient  getting  around 
beneath   the  lowest  limbs.     It  will  be  far  better  to  have  the 
branches  low,  than  it  "is  to  prune  them  so  that  a  man  will  need  a 
sixteen  feet  ladder  to  get  on  the  limbs.     The  higher  the  trees  are, 
the  more,  by  a  great  deal,  will  fruit  be  injured  when  it  falls  to 
the  ground,   when    it    falls    on  any  hard    substance   or  against 
each  other.      When  trees  are  low,  they  will  produce  quite  as 
much,  and  even  more  fruit  than  they  would  if  the  same  tops  were 
elevated  on  long  limbs  sixteen  feet  higher.     When  they  are  very 
high,  much  more  of  the  fruit  is  blown  off  by  high  winds,  some 
times  before  it  is  ripe;  and   a  greater  portion  of  it  cannot  be 
plucked  when  the  trees  are  high ;  whereas,  if  the  trees  were  low, 
almost  every  apple  could  be  plucked. 

304.  Many  good  orchards  have  been  almost  ruined  by  employ 
ing  a  raw  "bushwhacker"  to  prune  their  fruit-trees,  who  knew  no 
more  about  the  correct  principles,  according  to  which  fruit-trees 
should  be  pruned,  than  the   skillful  paddy  did  whom  a  certain 
farmer   employed  to  prune  his   young   orchard,  who,   on  being 
asked  at  noon  how  his  pruning  progressed,  replied,  "And  I  have 
pruned  none  at  all  yet,  but  have  cut  them  all  down."     Get  J.  J. 


226  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

Thomas'  Fruit  Culturist,  and  learn  to  prune  according  to  the  most 
approved  principles. 

305.  As  soon  as  a  tree  has  been  pruned — the  limbs  having 
been  cut  off  smoothly — a  little  kettle  of  liquid  grafting  cement 
should  be  at  hand,  and  with  a  brush  every  wound  that  is  as  large 
as  a  man's  thumb  should  be  smeared,  and  a  piece  of  coarse  paper 
put  over  it  before  it  becomes  hard,  and  pressed  into  the  wax. 
Have  a  little  basket  with  square  pieces  of  paper  in  it ;  and  if  the 
paper  is  a  little  larger  than  the  wound,  it  will  do  no  harm,  for 
the  rain  and  wind  will  soon  carry  away  all  that  does  not  adhere 
to  the  wax.  I  have  and  do  now  practise  these  directions. 


THE   HEDGE    COMPLETE. 

306.  "  The  following  figure  will  give  the  young  hedger  the  most 
approved  manner  of  pruning  a  hedge,  which  is  made  to  assume 
the  form  of  a  Gothic  arch,  as  shown  by  the  curved  lines  o  n  and 
o  m,  the  apex  of  the  hedge.     The  dotted  line  c  represents  the 
point  where  the  hedge  should  be  clipped  the  first  season,  if  it  is 
large  enough.     The  dotted  line  d  shows  the  place  for  the  second 
clipping ;  e  is  the  third  clipping,  h  the  fourth  clipping,  and  o  the 
hedge  complete."* 

307.  Since  penning  the  preceding  thoughts  on  hedges,  I  have 
read  "  Warder's  Hedges  and  Evergreens,"  a  most  useful  treatise 
for  every  one  who  ever  contemplates  raising  ten  rods  of  hedge. 
"When  I  penned  this  article  on  hedges,  I  did  not  know  that  such 
a  book  was  in  existence,  and  am  much  gratified  to  learn  that  our 
views  on  the  subjects  connected  with  hedging  should  coincide  so 
well,  especially  in  regard  to  the  distance  apart  at  which  the  quicks 
should  be  set.     I  have  to  acknowledge,  with  gratitude,  my  in 
debtedness   to   the    Country    Gentleman  and  Albany    Cultivator, 
published  by  Luther  Tucker  &  Son,  for  some  of  the  ideas  in  com 
posing  this  Section.     When  anything  has  been  copied,  due  credit 
has  been  given. 

*  Dr.  Warder's  Hedges  and  Evergreens,  price  one  dollar. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


227 


CHAPTEE  III. 

THE    PRINCIPAL   TOOLS   FOB   FENCING. 

THE  fencer  comes,  in  order  well  arrayed, 

His  little  kit,  and  saw,  with  glittering  blade, 

With  piercing  crowbar,  spade  and  spud  and  rammer, 

With  plumb-rule,  line,  and  auger,  axe  and  hammer, 

Not  strewn  in  wild  confusion  in  the  track, 

But  neat  and  clean,  supported  on  the  rack. 

308.  It  is  a  trite  but  usually  true  maxim,  that  "a  workman 
is  known  by  the  chips  he  makes  and  by  the  tools  he  uses.  A 
good  workman,  as  a  general  rule,  will  not  work  with  poor  and 
awkward  tools,  because  it  is  bad  policy.  He  knows  that  with 
poor  tools,  he  is  required  to  exert  much  more  physical  strength  in 
doing  a  given  job ;  and  that  he  makes  little  progress,  and  many 
times  cannot  do  a  piece  of  work  in  any  other  than  a  very  ineffi 
cient  manner.  Some  men  always  use  poor  tools.  A  good  tool 
of  any  kind,  with  them,  is  the  exception  and  not  the  rule  ;  and  if 
they  chance  to  get  a  good  tool,  it  is  of  short  duration,  for  it  is 
soon  broken  or  stove  up,  or  injured  in  some  manner,  so  that  it  is 
a  poor  one.  On  the  contrary,  other  men  will  always  keep  their 
tools  good  until  they  are  worn  out ;  and  one  will  seldom  find  a 
poor  tool  in  their  possession.  Good  tools,  many  times,  cost  no 
more  than  poor  ones,  in  dollars  and  cents ;  and  the  loss  sustained 
by  using  poor  tools  would  often  amount  to  more  than  enough,  in 
dollars  and  cents,  to  purchase  good  ones.  It  will  not  be  denied 
by  the  great  majority  of  workmen,  that  a  laborer  will  be  able  to 
do  twice  as  much  in  a  given  period  of  time,  with  less  force  and 
fatigue  to  his  powers,  with  a  good  tool  than  with  a  poor  one ;  and 
many  times  the  difference  is  even  four  or  five  times  in  favor  of  good 
tools.  The  best  of  tools  are  often  rendered  no  better  than  very 
(228) 


THE   YOUNG   FARMEK'ri   MANUAL.  229 

poor  ones,  by  neglecting  to  keep  them  in  good  order ;  and  they 
are  often  allowed  to  be  used  in  that  unworkmanlike  condition, 
because  those  who  use  them  do  not  know  how  to  keep  them  in 
good  order.  And  good  tools  are  often  very  much  damaged  by 
neglecting  to  take  care  of,  and  keep  them  fr<  m  the  influence  of 
the  weather.  This  leads  me  to  speak  of 

THE  USE  AND  CARE  OF  TOOLS. 

309.  It  is  not  always  those  who  break  and  wear  out  the  great 
est  number  of  tools  who  perform  the  most  labor,  but  the  opposite 
of  this ;  for  those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  damaging,  staving  up 
and  breaking  the  most  tools,  are  usually  those  who  do   a  very 
limited  portion  of  labor.       One-half  of  the  laborers — yes,  more 
than  that  proportion — do  not  seem  to  think  but  that  they  may 
pry  and  lift  with  a  spade,  shovel,  or  hoe-handle,  as  they  would 
with  a  crowbar  or  handspike.      For  this  reason,  the  handles  of 
both  spades  and  shovels  become  so  badly  sprung,  if  they  are  not 
broken,  as  to  render  them  very  inefficient,  and  almost  worthless. 
The  beginner  should  learn  to  exercise  a  little  judgment  in  regard 
to  the  strength  of  the  materials  of  which  tools  are  made,  and  to 
protect  them  from  the  injurious  influences  of  wet  and  dry  weather, 
which  will  rust,  warp,  distort  and  rot  them,  to  their  injury  more 
than  all  the  wear  of  them  when  in  actual  service. 

THE    FENCE    TOOL-RACK. 

310.  When  laborers  are  digging  post  holes,  it  becomes  neces 
sary  to  use  several  different  tools,  at  various  times,  in  digging 
one  hole,  and  when  there  is  nothing  to  lean  them  against,  a  work 
man  will  spend  a  portion  of  his  time  in  picking  up  his  tools  and 
changing  them  ;  and  in  some  places,  where  the  surface  of  the 
ground  is  covered  with  mud  and  water,  tools  will  be  falling  into 
the  mud,  and  then  a  laborer  must  spend  time  to  wipe  off  the 
mud.     All  these  little  points  of  time  will  soon  consume  enough 
to  dig  a  hole  or  two.     A  workman  needs  all  his  tools  close  ly  his 
side,  where  he  can  lay  his  hand  on  them  without  stepping  away 
from  his  work.     To  aid  him  in  having  his  tools  all  at  hand,  and 
for  keeping  them  out  of  the  mud,  a  tool-rack,  Fig.  98,  is  a  very 


230  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

important  implement  in  fence  building.     It  should  be  made  very 
light,  so  that  one  will  not  dread  to  move  it  when  necessary. 

FIG.  98. 


TOOL-RACK. 


A  is  a  piece  of  scantling,  two  inches  square  and  two  feet  long ; 
Z>  is  a  light  board,  one  foot  wide  and  two  feet  long,  screwed  to 
the  sills ;  c  c  are  standards,  round,  two  feet  long  and  one  inch  in 
diameter ;  D  D  are  guard-pins,  one  foot  long  and  one  inch  in 
diameter,  for  keeping  the  tools,  as  they  stand  on  the  platform  &, 
from  falling  on  the  ground.  On  this  platform  should  be  kept  the 
shovel  and  spade,  the  auger  and  spud,  the  crowbar  and  spoon, 
and  the  rammer,  and  then  no  time  will  be  spent  in  picking  them 
out  of  the  mud  ;  and  it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  that  this  little 
light  bench  is  not  strong  enough  to  be  used  as  a  heavy  saw 
bench. 

THE   POST-HOLE    AUGER. 

A  Post-hole  Auger  here  we  view, 
Without  a  pod,  or  worm,  or  screw. 

See  AUGERS,  Par.  588. 

311.  Fig.  99  is  an  illustration  of  a  dirt  auger,  which  is  a 
very  useful  tool  in  digging  ordinary  holes  for  fence  ;  and  when 
the  stones  are  all  so  small  that  they  will  pass  between  the 
lips,  a  workman  can  bore  a  hole  three  times  quicker  than  he 
can  dig  it  with  other  tools.  When  the  ground  is  very  wet, 
one  can  make  a  hole  three  feet  deep  in  less  than  five  minutes, 
should  the  auger  not  hit  any  stone.  When  there  are  many 
stones,  they  must  be  taken  out  by  hand.  But  few  men  know 
how  to  use  such  an  auger.  Many  will  insist  upon  having  a  large 
screw  on  the  end,  to  draw  it  into  the  ground  ;  but  such  a  thing 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  231 

would  be  impracticable,  because  the  threads  of  a  scr«v  would 
immediately  clog  with  dirt,  and  be  worse  than  a  small  plain 

FIG.  99. 


c 

THE  POST-HOLE  AT7GEB. 

point,  such  as  they  should  always  be  made  with.  In  using  such 
an  auger,  dig  a  foot  or  so  with  the  spade,  and  then  with  the 
crowbar  make  a  hole  six  or  eight  inches  deep  for  the  point  of  the 
auger  to  turn  in,  if  the  ground  is  hard.  "When  the  ground  is  soft, 
a  hole  made  with  a  crowbar  will  not  be  necessary.  Bore  in  six 
inches,  and  with  the  rammer  pack  the  dirt  a  little  on  the  auger, 
so  that  when  it  is  lifted  out  it  will  bring  all  the  dirt  with  it.  In 
dry  dirt,  if  it  is  not  rammed  a  little  on  the  auger  it  will  fall  back 
into  the  hole  when  the  auger  is  taken  out.  Make  a  hole  with 
crowbar  again  and  bore  as  before.  Have  a  little  paddle  at  hand 
to  clean  off  the  auger  when  the  dirt  adheres  to  it.  Never  strike 
an  auger  on  a  stone  for  the  purpose  of  knocking  off  the  dirt, 
should  be  kept  so  bright  that  dirt  will  seldom  stick  to  the  li 
Bear  in  mind,  that  a  post  auger  is  not  a  crowbar  nor  a  sledge,  and 
when  made  as  light  as  it  ought  to  be  it  can  be  easily  broken. 
"When  the  lips  hit  a  stone  in  boring,  let  the  auger  be  taken  out, 

and  pry  out  the  stone  with  the  crowbar. 
10* 


ips: 


232 

312.  Description. — a  is  the  handle,  two  feet  long,  which  passes 
through  an  eye  in  the  shank  5,  which  shank  is  made   of  three- 
quarter-inch    round   iron,    about    three  feet  long,   screwed  into 
the  socket  of  the  auger,     c  c  are  the  cutters  or  lips,  which  are  all 
lips  and  point,  which  point  cannot  be  seen,  cast  in  one  piece. 
The  lips  at  d  are  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  inches  apart,  accord 
ing  to  the  size  of  the  auger,  although  two  inches  is  large  enough 
in  the  widest  place.     The  lips  should  not  be  more  than  one- 
fourth  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  tapering  to  the  edges,  which  should 
be  chilled  when  they  are  cast  (see  paragraph  312).     The  point 
should  not  be   more  than  two  inches  in  diameter,  terminating 
with  a  point  about  three  or  four  inches  long,  made  of  a  true, 
round  taper.      As  such  augers  are  seldom  kept  on  hand,  and 
where  they  are  kept  for  sale  the  price  is  from   $3  to  $4,  the 
farmer  can  employ  an  experienced  pattern-maker  to  make  the 
pattern,  and  he  can  get  such  an  auger  fitted  up  at  a  machine- 
shop  for  about  $1  50,   handle  and  all.     Treman   Brothers,  of 
Ithaca,  sell  them,   ready  for  use,  at  $1   25.     The  whole  of  the 
boring  portion  should  be  kept  as  bright  and  smooth  as  a  plow, 
and  never  allowed  to  become  rusty.      When  not  in  use  it  should 
be  washed  and  wiped  clean  and  dry,  and  kept  where  it  will  not 
rust,  because  if  it  becomes  rusty  it  will  not  work  well,  any  more 
than  a  plow  that  is  not  scoured  so  bright  that  the  dirt  will  slip  in 
plowing. 

THE    SPUD. 

313.  For  digging  post  holes,  a  spud,  Fig.  100,  is  frequently 
the  most  convenient  and  efficient  tool  that  can  be  used.      Where 

FIG.  100. 


TIIE   SPUD. 


there  are  but  few  stones,  and  the  earth  is  too  hard  to  spade  it 
up,  a  spud  is  very  useful.  In  digging  holes  twice  as  large  as  the 
dirt  auger  will  bore,  the  spud  is  brought  into  use,  and  with  it  the 
sides  of  the  holes  are  cut  down  and  dressed  twice  as  quick,  and 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  233 

twice  as  easy,  as  it  could  be  done  with  spade  or  crowbar.  For 
digging  up  the  earth  in  the  bottom  of  post  holes,  when  no  dirt 
auger  is  used,  a  spud  is  far  better  than  a  crowbar.  Any  good 
blacksmith  can  make  a  spud,  and  the  cost  will  be  from  $1  50  to 
$2  50,  according  to  the  size  and  weight  of  it. 

314.  Description. — a  is  the  blade,  from  two  and  a  half  to  three 
inches  wide,  and  about  half  an  inch  thick  and  a  foot  long,  and  of 
the  best  of  iron,  and  the  edge  or  lower  end  of  the  blade,  for  two 
or  three  inches,  all  steel,  properly  tempered  for  cutting  stone  and 
gravel.     The  edge  is  bevelled  from  both  sides  like  a  crowbar. 
b  is  the  socket,  large  enough  to  receive  a  handle  two  inches  in 
diameter,  and  not  less  than  four  inches  deep.      The  handle  c 
should  be  round  and  tapering,  and  made  of  the  firmest  and  tough 
est  timber.     If  it  is  two  inches  in  diameter  at  the  socket,  it  will 
be  of  a  fair  proportion  if   it    is    made  of   a   true  taper  to  the 
upper  end,  which  should  be  about  one  inch  and  an  eighth  in 
diameter.       The  whole  tool  is  about  six  feet  in  length.       Re 
member  that   a   spud   is  not  made   to  pry  or  lift  with,  like  a 
handspike,  but  to  cleave  off  the  dirt,  and  to  dig  it  up,  so  that 
it  can  be  taken  out  of   the  holes  with    the    dirt  spoon.       Let 
the  edge  be  made  as  thin  as  will  be  consistent  with  sufficient 
strength.     If  it  is  too  thin  it  will  soon  break  or  bend. 

THE    RAMMER. 

315.  The  rammer  (Fig.   101)  is  used  for   packing  the  earth 
firmly  around  posts.       In    using   it  workmen    are    too    apt   to 

FIG.  101. 

o 


THK   RAMMER. 


pack  the  dirt  close  around  the  posts  and  leave  much  of  it 
untouched  with  the  rammer.  The  dirt  should  be  well  rammed 
from  the  post  to  every  side  of  the  hole.  The  rammer  should 
be  about  five  feet  in  length.  The  large  part  of  it  should  be 
about  four  inches  in  diameter  and  twenty  inches  long,  and  the 


234  THE  YOUNG  FAKMER's  MANUAL. 

lower  end  mounted  with  an  iron  plate  over  the  end,  and  a 
good  band  around  it  to  keep  it  from  splitting.  It  should  be 
made  of  heavy,  durable  wood.  The  upper  end  of  the  knob 
need  not  be  but  one  inch  in  diameter.  Rammers  are  often 
made  by  boring  a  hole  in  a  piece  of  scantling,  and  putting  in  a 
handle.  But  a  turned  one  is  a  little  neater.  A  handle  may 
be  turned  of  the  proper  size,  and  driven  firmly  in  the  head, 
after  which  the  head  may  be  turned.  Recollect  that  a  rammer 
is  not  a  tool  to  pry  with,  nor  to  strike  sideways  with. 

THE      CROWBAR. 

"  Behold  here  the  crowbar,  a  lever  for  prying 
And  lifting  stone,  standing  or  lying." — EDWARDS. 

316.  Here  we  have  something  that  you  do  not  break  and 
stave  up  without  some  extra  exertion.  This  is  not  a  shovel !  lift 
FIG  102  w^  ^  as  neav^7  as  y°u  please!  It  is  not  a  spade  ! 
pry  with  it  till  you  are  tired  !  It  is  not  an  axe-helve, 
nor  fork-handle !  And  now,  friend,  you  who  are 
always  breaking  and  staving  up  tools  that  were  never 
designed  to  pry  with,  when  you  have  anything  to  pry, 
get  the  crowbar.  A  crowbar  is  a  very  useful  tool,  and 
its  efficiency  depends,  in  a  great  measure,  on  its  form 
and  size.  For  ordinary  purposes  on  the  farm,  a  crow 
bar  of  the  following  dimensions  is  of  a  fair  proportion 
and  good  form  and  size,  and  as  small  as  one  ought  to  be. 
•~II-"  por  hand}mg  heavy  stone,  crowbars  may  be  heavier 
than  this,  but  never  lighter.  It  is  better,  for  gene 
ral  purposes,  to  have  the  basil  from  a  to  the  edge 
tapering  like  a  wedge,  instead  of  being  pointed. 
From  a  to  the  edge,  four  inches,  made  of  steel,  and 

I  • tempered   as  hard   as  it  can   well  be   and  not  break 

when  punching  on  stone.     From  a  to  I  eight  inches, 

a.....L™ and  one  inch  and  three-eighths  square.      From  Z>  to  the 

\  I        upper  end,  which  is  about  one  inch  in  diameter,  round, 
it  should  be  of  a  true  taper.     From  5  to  c  it  is  twenty 
BAK.       inches,  with  the  corners  hammered,  as  in  the  figure. 


235 

From  c  to  the  end,  thirty  to  thirty-four  inches,  round  and  smooth. 
The  upper  end  should  be  laid  with  steel,  so  that  it  will  not 
become  battered  up  in  hammering  or  driving  stone  with  it.  Let 
the  edge  of  the  crowbar  be  kept  sharp,  and  it  will  not  be  difficult 
to  work  a  hole  in  almost  any  soil. 

317.  The  most  efficient  and  proper  manner  of  using  a  crowbar 
when  making  holes  in  the  ground  is,  to  clasp  it  with  both  hands 
close  together,  when  it  stands  perpendicularly  before  the  work 
man,  with  the  hands  about  as  high  as  the  elbows,  and  then  lift  it 
perpendicularly,  and  plunge  it  down  perpendicularly.     By  hand 
ling  it  in  this  way,  it  is  easy  to  thrust  it  straight  in  a  hole  at 
every  thrust.     But  when  a  man  attempts  to  make  a  hole  by  tak 
ing  hold  of  the  crowbar  as  he  would  take  hold  of  a  pitchfork  or 
spade,  he  finds  it  very  difficult  to  thrust  twice  in  one  place.     In 
digging  up  the  earth  in  the  bottom  of  a  post  hole  with  a  crow 
bar  or  spud,  first  make  a  hole  three  or  four  inches  deep  in  the 
.centre  of  the  post  hole,  and  then  thrust  in  the  bar  about  three 
inches  from  this  hole,  and  pry  the  dirt  towards  the  centre  of  the 
post  hole.     Let  the  dirt  be  loosened  all  over  the  bottom  of  the 
hole,  and  then  take  it  out  with 

THE    DIET-SPOON. 

"  There  is  a  choice  in  spoons." — BARLOW. 

318.  A  dirt-spoon  (Fig.  103)  is  not  calculated  to  shovel  dirt, 
nor  to  spade  with ;  its  office  is  to  scoop  out  the  loose  dirt  in  dig- 

Fia.  103. 


THE   DIET-SPOON. 


ging  post  holes.  It  is  better  for  such  a  purpose  than  a  spade,  or 
any  kind  of  shovel,  because  it  is  not  so  pointed  as  some  shovels, 
and  has  a  deeper  bowl,  like  a  scoop  shovel.  They  are  seldom 
made  to  hang  correctly,  and  the  bowl  is  usually  too  long  to  do 


236  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

good  work.  The  bowl  is  frequently  made  in  a  straight  line  with 
the  handle,  whereas,  there  should  be  so  much  hang  to  it  that 
when  it  is  full  of  dirt  there  will  be  no  tendency  to  turn  over  in 
the  hands  of  the  workman.  (See  SHOVELS,  paragraph  323.) 
There  should  be  so  much  hang  (see  HANG,  in  the  next  vol.) 
or  crook  to  it  that,  in  filling  it  with  dirt,  it  must  be  carried  to 
the  opposite  side  of  the  post  hole  from  where  the  digger  is 
standing,  and  then  crowded  down  into  the  dirt,  not  by  thrust 
ing,  but  by  the  weight  of  the  operator,  and  as  it  enters  the 
dirt  it  should  be  carried  back  to  the  other  side  of  the  hole. 
Fig.  104  represents  a  side  view  of  the  dirt-spoon,  by  which  it 

FIG.  104. 


SIDE  VIEW  OF  DIRT-SPOON 

will  be  seen  what  is  about  the  correct  shape  for  the  bowl,  and 
crook  of  the  handle.  Our  old-fashioned  ladles  for  scooping 
boiled  beans  from  the  dinner-pot  come  nearer  to  a  dirt-spoon 
than  any  other  implement,  and  when  a  ladle  hangs  cor 
rectly  for  dipping  beans  out  of  a  dinner  pot,  it  may  be  used 
as  a  model  for  making  a  post-  or  dirt-spoon.  The  handle  of 
the  dirt-spoon  may  be  of  wood,  and  bent  like  a  shovel- 
handle  ;  or  the  spoon  may  have  an  iron  shank,  a  foot  or  so  in 
length,  bent  in  proper  shape,  like  Fig.  104.  Let  the  bowl  be 
kept  bright,  so  that  dirt  will  not  adhere  to  it,  and  clean  it  with  a 
little  paddle,  instead  of  striking  it  on  a  stone  or  block  to  knock 
the  dirt  off.  When  it  is  struck  on  a  stone  to  clean  the  dirt  off, 
the  edges  will  soon  become  all  stove  up,  and  the  dirt  will  not 
slip  off"  readily. 

THE    PLUMB    RULE. 

"  From  the  zenith  above  to  the  nadir  below, 
A  plumb  in  a  vertical  line  will  go."— GRAY. 

319.  The  plumb  rule,  Fig.  105,  is  made  of  a  strip  of  board 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  237 

about  four  feet  long  and  three  inches  wide,  and  scalloped  or  forked 
at  the  bottom,  as  in  the  figure,  so  that  it  may  rest  on  the  points, 
while  the  plumb  c  swings  freely.  The  rule  must  be  planed  as 
straight  as  can  be  with  the  jointer,  with  the  edges  parallel,  and 

FIG.  105. 


PLUMB   RTTLK. 


a  mark  made  with  the  gauge  along  the  centre,  as  at  the  dotted 
line  a  ;  I  is  a  screw  to  which  the  plumb  line  d  is  attached  ;  c  is 
the  plumb,  made  of  lead,  about  two  inches  long  and  one  inch  in 
diameter.  To  make  a  plumb,  bore  a  smooth  hole  in  a  hard  stick 
of  wood,  and  fill  it  with  melted  lead ;  as  soon  as  the  lead  is 
poured  in,  hold  a  little  wire  staple  in  the  melted  lead,  with  the 
pinchers,  until  the  lead  becomes  solid.  Split  the  stick,  and  attach 
the  plumb  by  the  staple,  to  a  piece  of  small  cord  d.  Place  the 
edge  of  the  rule  against  the  side  of  a  post,  and  if  it  is  plumb  the 
cord  will  hang  exactly  over  the  dotted  line  a.  Such  a  rule  is 
usually  quite  as  convenient  as  a  spirit  level  and  plumb,  which 
will  cost  ten  times  more  ;  and  it  is  often  far  more  correct,  and  will 
show  any  slight  variation  with  more  accuracy  than  many  spirit 
rules. 


238 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


THE    SPADE. 

"  Hurrah  for  the  spade,  and  a  workman  to  use  it  I 
It  turns  the  black  glebe  into  bright  shining  gold  I 
What  could  our  fathers  have  done,  boys,  without  it, 
When  the  fields  lay  all  bare  and  the  zephyrs  blew  cold  ?"— DWIGHT. 

320.  Fig.  106  represents  a  good  spade,  in  one  sense,  but  be- 


FIG. 


107. 


cause  it  hangs  so  awkwardly  it  is  worthless. 
It  would  be  almost  impossible  to  spade  with 
such  a  tool,  because  there  is  no  hang  to  it. 
The  names  of  the  principal  parts  of  the 
spade  are,  b,  the  handle,  a,  the  hilt,  c,  the 
stamp  or  shoulder,  e?,  the  blade.  Fig.  107 
shows  a  side  view  of  a  well-hung  spade. 
It  will  be  discovered  that  a  line  cutting  the 
middle  of  the  straight  portion  of  the  handle 
will  strike  the  edge  of  the  blade,  as  shown 
by  the  dotted  line,  and  the  upper  end  of  the 
blade  should  set  back  of  this  line  about  two 
inches,  in  a  spade  about  a  foot  long.  When 
the  blade  hangs  in  such  a  position  that  a 
line  cutting  the  centre  of  it  would  be  par 
allel  with  a  line  cutting  the  straight  part  of 
the  handle,  (see  Fig.  108,  OF  SHOVELS,)  it 
will  not  work  easily,  because  the  laborer 
will  be  obliged  to  make  an  extra  effort  to 
prevent  a  spadeful  from  slipping  off  the  end 
SPADB.  Q£  ^e  blade.  "When  a  spade  has  as  much 

hang  as  a  well  hung  shovel,  a  spader  is  obliged  to  reach  for 
ward  with  the  handle  so  far  that  the  motion  is  awkward,  ineffi 
cient,  and  not  easy.  But  when  a  spade  has  about  as  much 
hang  as  is  shown  at  Fig.  107,  a  workman  is  not  obliged  to  use 
up  any  of  his  energies  in  an  inefficient  manner.  It  is  much 
better  to  have  a  spade-handle  entirely  straight,  without  any 
hang  at  all  in  a  spade,  than  to  have  the  edge  and  the  blade 
stand  at  such  an  angle  as  is  represented  by  Fig.  106.  A  spade 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL.  239 

with  a  handle  entirely  straight,  and  straight  with  the  blade,  is 
not  an  awkward  tool  to  spade  with  until  one  attempts  to  lift  a 
spadeful,  then  we  shall  see  distinctly  the  necessity  of  having  a 
spade  hung  in  the  most  proper  manner.  Manufacturers  would 
do  well  to  make  two  kinds  of  spades,  one  kind  very  neat  and 
light,  but  sufficiently  strong  for  skillful  laborers,  and  another  kind 
unnecessarily  heavy  and  clumsy,  for  the  special  benefit  of  those 
fetupid  dolts  who  use  a  spade  as  if  it  were  a  crowbar,  and  who 
cannot  use  a  spade  a  half  day  without  bending  the  blade,  or 
breaking  or  springing  the  handle,  or  staving  it  up  into  some  unde 
sirable  shape. 

321.  In  using  a  spade,  especially  in  spading  sod,  the  operator 
should  always  remember  to  cut  a  spadeful  loose  on  both  sides 
before  it  is  thrust  in  to  take  up  a  spadeful.     "When  a  spade  is 
thrust  in  its  whole  length  into  hard  soil,  and  the  force  of  a  laborer 
applied  to  the  handle  to  loosen  the  spadeful  as  if  it  were  a  lever, 
if  it  is  not  made  too  heavy  and  clumsy  for  a  skillful  laborer,  it 
must  'break  or  bend,  so  as  to  be  unfit  for  use.     In  spading  we  can 
not  avail  ourselves  of  any  advantage  by  resting  the  handle  across 
one  knee,  as  in  shovelling ;   therefore  a  spade  should  not  be  one 
ounce  heavier  than  is  necessary  for  consistent  strength.     The 
blade  should  be  made  of  steel,  because  a  steel  blade  is  much 
stiffer  than  an  iron  blade  of  the  same  thickness.     A  man  whose 
mind  is  enlightened  with  a  knowledge  of  mechanical  principles, 
will  never  bend  nor  break  a  spade  ;   his  keen  perception  will  tell 
him,  even  if  he  were  blindfolded,  when  the  strength  of  the  spade 
is  unequal  to  the  force  applied  to  the  handle. 

322.  In  spading  the  soil  in  gardens,  when  a  plow  is  not  used, 
the  laborer  takes  a  spade-slice  six  or  eight  inches  wide  and  spades 
clear  across  a  given  plot  of  ground,  leaving  a  furrow  about  half 
as  wide  as  the  furrow  made  by  a  plow.     The  narrower  the  spade- 
slices  are  the  more  completely  the  soil  will  be  pulverized.     When 
manure  is  worked  into  the  soil  in  spading,  it  should  be  spread  in 
the  furrow,  and  every  spadeful  turned  upside  down  on  the  top  of 
it ;  and  if  the  dirt  does  not  all  fall  to  pieces,  a  thrust  or  two  with 
the  edge  will  pulverize  it  sufficiently  for  raking.     When  spading 


240  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

soil  of  a  clayey  or  adhesive  character,  after  the  spade  has  been 
thrust  in,  instead  of  prying  the  spadeful  loose  by  prying  down  on 
the  handle,  the  laborer  should  thrust  the  handle  from  him,  forward, 
so  as  to  loosen  the  spadeful.  This  operation  will  not  require 
half  the  force  for  spading  that  is  necessary  where  the  spading  is 
all  done  by  prying  down  on  the  handle  to  loosen  the  spadeful. 
A  skillful  spader  will  wear  out  his  spade ;  but  an  awkward  Jona 
than  will  break  and  stave  up  twice  as  many  spades,  and  will  not 
perform  half  the  amount  of  labor,  as  he  who  handles  a  spade  with 
a  little  skill.  In  spading  in  ditches  where  the  soil  is  quite  wet, 
ninety -nine  diggers  in  one  hundred  will  put  their  whole  weight 
on  a  spade-handle  in  order  to  pry  a  spadeful  loose ;  whereas,  if 
they  would  loosen  it  by  thrusting  the  handle  forward,  it  would 
not  require  one-fourth  the  strength,  and  it  would  be  loosened  in 
less  than  half  the  time.  By  prying  down  on  the  handle  to  loosen 
a  spadeful  where  there  is  water,  a  spadeful  is  not  easily  pryed 
loose,  because  in  separating  the  spadeful  from  the  unbroken 
ground  there  is  a  tendency  to  form  a  vacuum ;  but  by  thrusting 
the  handle  forward  enough  to  loosen  the  spadeful,  air  and  water 
will  find  their  way  behind  the  spadeful,  and  it  may  be  easily 
lifted  from  its  place  with  the  spade.  Remember,  that  a  spade  is 
neither  a  crowbar  nor  handspike.  If  the  edge  and  blade  of  a 
spade  are  made  of  steel,  as  they  should  be,  and  polished  on  the 
grindstone,  and  the  edge  ground  up  sharp,  if  the  edge  has  a  good 
temper,  so  hard  that  it  will  not  batter  when  it  touches  stone,  nor 
break  when  thrust  on  a  flint,  it  will  not  require  much  force  to 
drive  in  the  spade  when  spading.  But  .when  the  edge  is  all  bat 
tered  up,  and  towards  one-fourth  of  an  inch  thick,  spading  is  a 
very  laborious  operation.  A  good  steel  spade  should  never  be 
allowed  to  become  rusty,  nor  to  be  exposed  to  heavy  rains,  as 
bent  handles  in  spades  are  quite  apt  to  spring  straight  when  left 
in  wet  places.  A  few  drops  of  oil  will  keep  the  blade  from  rust 
ing,  and  it  will  not  require  half  as  much  time  to  clean  a  spade 
and  oil  it  and  put  it  under  cover  as  it  will  to  scour  it  fit  for  use 
after  it  has  become  rusty.  If  the  edge  of  a  steel  spade  is  too  soft, 
it  may  easily  be  tempered  again  as  hard  as  may  be  desired,  by 


241 

heating  about  two  inches  of  the  edge.     (See  TEMPERING  TOOLS, 
532.) 

SHOVELS. 

"  0  give  me  a  shovel !    There's  magic  about  it  I 
And  the  laborer  skilled  will  teach  us  to  use  it." — EDWARDS. 

323.  The  great  excellency  and  efficiency  of  shovels,  and  the 
ease  with  which  they  may  be  handled,  depend  almost  entirely  on 
the  correct  hang  of  the  handles  and  blades.  If  a  shovel  or  spade 
be  made  of  the  very  best  materials,  and  is  defective  in  the  hang 
of  the  blade  and  handle,  it  is  a  poor  tool;  and  the  intelligent 
farmer  would  find  it  for  his  interest  to  dispose  of  such  tools  to 
those  who  seen*  to  contend  that  a  laborer  can  perform  just  as 
much  work  with  a  tool  having  a  straight  handle  as  with  a  tool 
correctly  hung,  providing  he  is  only  accustomed  to  using  such  tools. 
Shovelling  dirt,  or  manure,  or  anything  else,  is  very  laborious 
work,  even  when  the  very  best  kind  of  shovels  is  used;  but 
when  shovelling  is  to  be  performed  with  a  poor  tool,  the  laborer  is 
sure  to  be  greatly  fatigued,  while  he  performs  but  a  light  day's 
work ;  but  when  a  shovel  is  made  of  good  materials,  is  light  and 
bright,  and  correctly  hung,  a  man  will  be  able  to  perform  twice 
the  amount  of  labor,  with  half  the  fatigue  that  he  would  experi 
ence  with  a  shovel  improperly  hung.  Shovels  are  too  frequently 
made  unnecessarily  heavy  in  order  to  be  of  consistent  strength, 
because  the  materials  of  which  they  are  made  are  very  poor ;  but 
if  they  were  made  of  good  steel  they  might  be  often  full  one-third 
lighter,  and  sufficiently  strong  for  any  skillful  laborer  to  use  with 
out  fear  of  breaking.  When  the  blades  are  made  of  poor  iron,  it 
is  necessary  to  make  them  nearly  twice  as  heavy  as  if  they  were 
made  of  steel ;  and  more  than  this,  iron  blades  will  not  wear  as 
smooth,  and  will  not  enter  the  dirt  as  easily,  as  a  steel  blade ;  and 
dirt  is  far  more  apt  to  adhere  to  an  iron  blade  than  to  a  steel  one, — 
all  of  which  require  the  exercise  of  more  force  in  using  a  shovel. 
It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  find  shovels  from  one  to  two  pounds 
heavier  than  is  necessary.  Suppose,  for  example,  a  laborer  will 
throw  up  ten  shovelfuls  in  a  minute ;  at  that  rate  he  will  throw 
up  six  thousand  shovelfuls  in  a  day  of  ten  hours.  If  his  shovel 


242  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

be  two  pounds  heavier  than  is  necessary,  he  will  in  ten  hours 
exert  a  force,  which  is  entirely  lost  in  handling  a  heavy  shovel, 
which  would  have  been  sufficient  to  have  thrown  up  twelve  thou 
sand  pounds  of  earth,  with  no  more  fatigue  than  he  experiences, 
had  he  used  a  lighter  shovel.  The  laborer  will  discover  from  this 
fact  the  importance  of  having  shovels  as  light  as  will  be  consistent 
with  necessary  strength  ;  and  the  better  the  materials  are  of  which 
shovels  are  made,  the  lighter  they  may  be,  and  the  more  a  work 
man  will  be  able  to  perform  with  a  certain  amount  of  force.  In 
using  a  shovel,  all  the  force  which  a  laborer  exerts  should  be 
turned  to  the  most  efficient  purpose.  It  requires  but  little  force 
to  shovel  a  ton  of  earth  when  a  man  handles  a  good  shovel  with 
dexterity ;  but  if  a  laborer  must  bend  his  legs  and  back  very  much 
in  order  to  bring  his  shovel  in  the  best  position  to  enter  the  sub 
stance  to  be  shovelled  with  the  least  force,  the  fatigue  produced 
by  bringing  his  body  into  such  a  position,  and  straightening  up 
again,  will  be  greater  than  that  caused  by  thrusting  in  the  shovel 
and  lifting  a  shovelful.  For  this  reason  it  is  very  poor  policy  for 
a  laborer  to  use  a  shovel  with  a  very  short  handle,  like  the  handle 
of  a  spade,  for  shovelling  any  length  of  time,  because  it  is  very 
laborious  and  fatiguing.  A  man  may  shovel  with  a  short  handle 
for  an  hour  or  so  as  fast  as  he  would  with  a  long  handle,  and  not 
discover  any  difference  in  the  fatigue  produced  or  force  expended; 
but  let  him  continue  to  use  a  shovel  with  a  short  handle  all  day, 
and  if  he  does  an  honest  day's  work,  unless  his  powers  of  endur 
ance  are  very  great,  he  will  pronounce  shovelling  very  laborious 
business.  In  shovelling  dirt  or  manure  with  a  short-handled 
shovel,  the  operator  usually  places  the  hand  which  holds  the  hilt 
of  the  shovel  against  the  inside  of  one  thigh,  and  bends  his  knees 
and  body  forward,  and  in  this  position,  by  no  means  an  easy  one, 
thrusts  in  the  shovel.  The  simple  act  of  bringing  the  body  into 
such  a  position,  and  bringing  it  again  erect,  will  require  the  ex 
penditure  of  more  force  than  the  shovelling  alone.  In  order  to 
shovel  with  the  least  fatigue,  a  laborer  needs  to  stand  almost  erect, 
with  his  back  straight  and  knees  bent  but  little ;  and  then,  with 
the  handle  resting  across  one  knee,  the  shovel  is  thrust  into  the 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


243 


dirt  by  a  forward  motion  of  the  body  ;  and  by  straightening  the 
knees  and  keeping  the  arms  stiff,  with  the  shovel  across  the  knee, 
the  shovelful  is  lifted  a  few  inches  with  the  least  possible  fatigue. 
Then,  by  making  a  fulcrum  of  the  knee  across  which  the  han 
dle  is  resting,  and  by  thrusting  the  upper  end  of  the  handle 
down  with  one  hand,  the  shovelful  may  be  raised  nearly  a  foot 
high  with  the  greatest  ease.  It  must  then  be  lifted  by  the  arms. 
But  a  man's  back  should  be  always  kept  about  straight  in 
shovelling,  as  he  will  be  able  to  work  much  longer  and  with  less 
fatigue  than  would  be  possible  when  he  is  constantly  bending 
and  straightening  his  back.  The  knees  should  always  perform 
the  most  laborious  part  in  shovelling  dirt,  and  the  arms  should  be 
kept  as  closely  to  the  body  as  is  convenient.  My  apology  for 
being  so  particular  on  this  subject  is, — few  laborers,  old  or  young, 
know  how  to  use  a  dirt-shovel  with  the  greatest  ease,  and  to 
perform  the  greatest  amount  of  labor  with  the  least  fatigue; 
and  they  often  labor  very  hard  and  accomplish  but  little,  be 
cause  they  do  not  understand  handling  the  shovel  with  dexterity 
or  because  it  is  not  properly  hung.  I  shall  now  treat  more  par 
ticularly  of 

THE    RULE   FOB   HANGING   SHOVELS  IN  A  WORKMANLIKE  MANNER. 


FIG.  108. 


FIG.  109. 


A  SHOVEL  WELL  HUNG. 


324.  Fig.  109  represents  a  shovel  well  hung,  and  the  dotted 


i 
244  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

lines  show  the  angle  at  which  the  straight  part  of  the  handle  and 
the  blade  should  stand  with  each  other,  in  order  to  have  a  shovel 
hang  in  such  a  manner  as  to  work  easily.  When  a  man  takes 
such  a  shovel  in  his  hands  across  one  knee,  as  if  he  were  about 
to  shovel  dirt,  the  blade  should  lie  nearly  flat  on  the  ground, 
on  a  level  with  his  feet.  This  will  be  readily  comprehended 
by  the  dotted  lines.  Every  laborer  who  knows  how  to  handle  a 
dirt  shovel  with  dexterity,  knows  that  the  blade  of  a  shovel 
must  lie  nearly  flat  on  the  ground,  in  order  to  enter  the  dirt 
with  the  least  force  of  the  operator.  In  Fig.  109,  for  example, 
the  dotted  line  a  b  represents  the  level  on  which  the  laborer 
stands.  The  blade  lies  flat  on  this  level.  -One  hand  of  the  work 
man  grasps  the  handle  at  c,  and  the  other  hand  at  d,  while  the 
handle  rests  across  one  knee  at  e.  Now  by  a  slight  motion 
of  the  body  forward,  the  shovel  is  thrust  in  with  the  least 
possible  force,  and  by  the  motions  then  of  straightening  up  and 
thrusting  down  the  hand  at  d,  as  already  mentioned,  shovelling  is 
performed  with  as  little  fatigue  and  force  of  a  laborer  as  it  is 
possible  to  do  it.  With  a  shovel  hung  like  Fig.  109,  a  laborer 
can  avail  himself  of  some  mechanical  advantage  in  shovelling; 
whereas,  with  a  shovel  exactly  like  it,  which  has  a  short  handle, 
like  the  handle  of  a  spade,  one  hand  must  not  only  lift  much 
more  than  a  shovelful,  but  it  must  operate  as  a  fulcrum  for  the 
other  hand  to  pry  across,  so  as  to  balance  the  shovelful.  A 
shovel  like  Fig.  109  is  not  designed  to  be  used  in  ditching,  or 
for  shovelling  up  ridges  along  a  fence,  because  it  is  so  wide 
at  the  entering  edge  that  twice  as  much  force  is  required  to 
make  it  enter  the  dirt  as  is  required  for  a  shovel  like  Fig.  1 1 0  of 
the  same  width.  For  shovelling  sand  or  mortar,  or  for  clean 
ing  stables  and  such  like,  a  shovel  like  Fig.  109  is  preferable 
to  one  like  Fig.  110,  which  represents  a  round-pointed  ditching 
shovel,  or  the  best  kind  of  a  shovel  for  casting  up  a  ridge  along 
a  fence.  Fig.  Ill  represents  a  round-pointed  shovel  similar  h> 
Fig.  110,  with  the  sides  turned  up  by  a  blacksmith,  for  working 
in  a  narrow  channel  or  ditch.  Figs.  109,  110  and  111  are  all 
hung  alike,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  dotted  lines,  and  hung  ac- 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


245 


cording  to  the  most  approved  mechanical  principles.  A  shovel 
that  hangs  just  right  for  a  tall  man  will  not  hang  exactly  right  for 
a  short  man,  when  they  both  grasp  the  handle  at  the  same 


FIG.  110. 


FIG.  111. 


places  ;  but  a  short  man,  by  grasping  the  handle  nearer  the  blade, 
may  use  a  shovel  that  hangs  just  right  for  a  tall  man,  and  vice 
versa. 

325.  Fig.  108  represents  a  round  pointed  shovel  very  awk 
wardly  hung,  and  it  would  be  a  very  disagreeable  and  ugly  tool 
to  work  with.  There  is  curvature  enough  in  the  handle,  but  it 
will  seen  by  the  dotted  lines  that  the  straight  part  of  the  handle, 
and  the  blade  of  the  shovel,  are  in  lines  parallel  with  each  other. 
Whereas,  if  the  point  of  it  stood  at  the  upper  dotted  line,  as  in 
the  other  figures,  it  would  be  a  good  shovel,  and  a  laborer  would 
be  able  to  shovel  with  it  with  as  much  ease  as  he  would  with 
one  hung  like  Fig.  110.  With  a  shovel  like  Fig.  108,  a  laborer 
must  bend  his  whole  body  very  low,  in  order  to  bring  the  blade  in 
a  position  to  enter  the  dirt  by  the  application  of  the  least  force. 
If  he  attempts  to  shovel  with  it  across  one  knee,  the  blade  stands 
up  and  down  at  such  a  sharp  angle  that  it  is  difficult  to  keep  a 
shovelful  of  dirt  on  it,  and  more  than  this,  a  laborer  cannot  thrust 
it  into  the  dirt  unless  he  stamps  it  with  his  foot,  except  the  dirt 
i  very  mellow.  Shovels  are  never  made  of  this  shape  by  skill 
ful  workmen  ;  but  by  allowing  them  to  be  exposed  to  the  influences 


24:6  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

of  wet  and  dry  weather,  and  by  prying  with  them,  and  other 
rough  and  hard  usage,  shovels  that  are  correctly  hung  are  often 
brought  into  a  shape  like  Fig.  108  before  they  are  one  quarter 
worn  out.  The  handles  of  such  shovels  ought  to  be  made  of 
timber  having  a  natural  crook,  not  bent,  and  then  there  would  be 
little  liability  to  spring  out  straight.  Let  the  blades  of  shovels 
be  kept  bright  by  wiping  them  dry  after  using  them,  and  apply 
ing  a  few  drops  of  oil, — not  salted  grease,  as  many  do,  for  salt  wih 
rust  iron, — and  keep  the  handles  near  the  blade  well  painted,  and 
never  use  a  shovel  for  spading  or  prying,  for  it  is  not  a  spade 
nor  a  handspike.  "When  a  shovel  is  used  to  spade  with,  the 
almost  certain  consequence  is,  that  the  blade  will  be  bent  directly 
across  the  middle.  What  has  been  penned  holds  equally  good 
with  reference  to  the  hanging  of  scoop  shovels,  and  of  forks  for 
pitching  manure. 

BOOT    IRON   FOR   SPADINQ. 

326.  In  spading  or  shovelling,  when  it  is  necessary  to  stamp 
the  spade  into  the  dirt  with  one  foot,  the  shoulder  of  the  spade 
or  shovel  would,  in  a  short  time,  wear  the  sole  of  a  boot  entirely 
through,  besides  making  the  foot  tender  or  lame.  To  obviate  all 
such  occurrences,  a  boot  iron,  Fig.  112,  is  used  for  the  purpose 

FIG.  112. 


a 

BOOT   IEON   FOB  SPADING. 


of  protecting  the  boot,  and  for  giving  efficiency  to  the  force  of 
the  laborer,  a  is  the  sole  of  it,  made  of  iron,  about  three-six 
teenths  of  an  inch  thick,  as  long  as  the  boot  is  wide,  and  about 
two  inches  in  width  from  the  flange  e  to  the  forward  edge  of  the 
iron  at  a.  At  b  is  one  of  the  ears  through  which  the  leather 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


247 


strap  c  passes ;  d  is  a  buckle  in  one  end  of  the  strap.  The  ears 
are  a  part  of  the  sole  iron,  turned  up,  from  two  to  three  inches 
long,  according  to  the  size  of  the  boot.  The  flange  e  is  turned 
downwards,  like  a  hook,  to  prevent  the  shoulder  of  the  spade 
from  slipping  off  it.  The  iron  is  placed  in  the  hollow  of  the 
boot,  with  the  flange  e  against  the  forward  side  of  the  heel  of  the 
boot,  and  the  strap  c  is  passed  behind  the  heel,  and  through  mor 
tises  in  each  ear,  as  shown  in  the  figure,  and  buckled  around  the 
instep.  An  ingenious  blacksmith  will  make  the  iron  for  ten  or 
twelve  cents,  and  the  strap  and  buckle  will  cost  eight  or  ten  more. 
This  is  a  very  useful  article  in  using  the  spade,  and  will  save  the 
wear  of  boots  very  much  more  than  its  cost. 

THE    RAIL   FENCE    JACK. 

327.  In  repairing  rail  fence  it  is  often  necessary  and  desirable 
to  put  in  a  good  rail  near  the  bottom  of  a  fence,  where  a  rail  is 
broken  or  rotten,  without  taking  down  the  corners.  When  there 
are  heavy  riders  on  a  fence,  and  the  stakes  are  firmly  set,  it  is  no 
little  task  to  take  off  the  riders  and  loosen  the  stakes  and  let 

FIG.  113. 


A  BAIL  FJSNCB  JACK. 

down  the  corners,  in  order  to  take  out  old  pieces  of  a  rail,  and 
place  a  good  one  there.  But  by  having  a  fence  jack  like  Fig. 
113,  a  man  or  boy  can  raise  the  corners  of  a  fence,  when  it  is 
staked  and  ridered  with  heavy  rails,  and  take  out  the  pieces  and 
put  in  a  good  rail  much  quicker  than  he  would  be  able  to  do  it 
by  taking  the  fence  down  and  putting  it  up  again.  It  is  so  plain 
11 


248  THE  YOUNG  FARMERS  MANUAL. 

that  almost  any  one  can  make  it.  a  is  the  sill,  about  thirty  inches 
long,  of  good  timber,  two  by  four  inches  square,  b  is  the  stand 
ard,  about  three  and  a  half  feet  long,  five  inches  wide,  one  inch 
and  a  quarter  thick,  with  three-quarter  inch  holes  bored  in  it  about 
four  inches  apart,  c  is  the  lever  of  tough  timber,  not  less  than 
three  inches  square  at  the  mortise  where  it  plays  on  the  standard. 
The  mortise  should  be  so  long  that  the  lever  can  play  up  and 
down  freely.  The  short  end  of  the  lever  should  be  six  or  seven 
inches  longer  than  the  end  of  the  sill,  and  scalloped,  as  in  the 
illustration,  to  prevent  its  slipping  off  the  rails.  The  other  end 
should  be  about  six  feet  long,  and  of  a  true  taper  from  the  mor 
tise  to  the  end.  The  end  need  not  be  larger  than  a  fork  handle. 
d  is  an  iron  pin  with  an  eye  in  the  end,  attached  to  the  lever  c 
by  a  small  chain  or  leather  strap.  The  pin  is  for  holding  the 
lever  at  the  holes  in  the  standard  for  prying  across,  e  is  a  pawl, 
attached  to  the  handle,  and  plays  in  the  notches  in  the  standard 
I.  In  using  the  jack  for  lifting  the  corners  of  the  fence,  put  the 
end  of  the  lever  under  a  rail  and  raise  the  corner  a  little,  and 
put  a  stone  or  block  of  wood  between  the  rails  to  keep  them 
apart.  Now,  carry  the  jack  to  the  next  corner  and  raise  it  up  a 
little,  and  fasten  the  lever  with  the  pawl,  and  then  take  out  the 
pieces  of  the  rail  and  put  in  a  good  one,  and  let  the  fence  down 
again.  When  it  is  desirable  to  raise  the  corners  of  a  fence  so  as 
to  put  larger  blocks  under  them,  the  fence  jack  is  much  more 
convenient  than  a  handspike,  because  one  hand  can  work  with  it 
very  advantageously,  while  with  nothing  but  a  handspike  two 
hands  are  very  necessary.  If  the  end  of  the  lever  on  which  the 
rail  rests  extends  too  far  beyond  the  end  of  the  sill,  the  jack  will 
tip  over  when  a  corner  is  resting  on  it.  To  obviate  this  difficulty, 
run  the  end  of  the  lever  under  the  rails  so  far  that  the  weight  of 
the  fence  will  not  be  beyond  the  end  of  the  sill.  If  the  rails 
should  be  close  to  the  ground,  raise  them  a  little  and  block  them 
up,  and  then  set  the  jack  a  little  under  the  fence.  Such  a  jack 
is  a  very  convenient  implement  for  raising  one  end  of  the  axle- 
trees  of  a  wagon,  when  the  wheels  are  to  be  taken  off.  The 
notches  for  the  pawl  should  not  be  quite  as  close  together  as  they 


THE  YOUNG  FAKMEK'S  MANUAL. 


249 


appear  in  the  illustration.  It  would  be  a  great  improvement  to 
have  an  iron  rack — a  straight  piece  of  iron  with  teeth  on  one 
side  of  it — bolted  to  the  standard,  and  an  iron  pawl  playing  in  it ; 
but  for  ordinary  purposes,  notches  in  a  wooden  standard  and  a 
tough  piece  of  wood  for  a  pawl  will  subserve  a  very  good  purpose. 


FIG.  114. 


A   PICK    MATTOCK    OR    GRUBBING    HOE 

"  Let  servant  be  ready  with  mattock  in  hand, 
To  grub  out  the  bushes  that  cover  the  land."— TUSSER. 

328.  Is  a  very  useful  tool  for  setting  stakes  for  a  rail  fence, 
when  the  stakes  are  not  driven  in  the  ground  in  a  perpendicular 
position.  The  blade  of  a  mattock  should  be  not  less  than  two 
and  a  half  inches  wide,  and  the  handle  should  be  of  an  oval  form 
instead  of  round,  so  that  a  laborer  can  hold  it  more  advanta 
geously  in  the  proper  position  when  using  it.  When  the  handle 
of  a  mattock  is  round,  it  may  turn  half  way  over  in  the  hands 
of  a  workman  and  he  will  not  perceive  it ;  but  when  a  handle  is 
of  an  oval  form,  the  eye 
also  being  oval,  a  workman 
will  perceive  a  slight  varia 
tion  of  the  mattock  with 
out  looking  to  see  if  he  is 
holding  it  correctly.  (See 
HAMMER  AND  BEETLE,  Par. 
331  and  338.)  The  handle 
of  a  mattock  should  always 
be  put  through  the  eye 
from  the  lower  side,  and 
then  it  will  not  draw  or 
work  out,  if  the  eye  is 
made  as  it  should  be — a 
little  the  largest  on  the 
lower  side.  Eemember, 
that  a  mattock  or  grubbing 
hoe  is  not  a  crowbar  for 
prying  stone,  nor  a  mill-  A  PICK  MATTOCK  OB  GRUBBING  HOK. 


250  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

pick  for  dressing  stone.  Neither  the  handle  nor  blade  is  calculated 
for  prying.  Mattocks  and  picks  of  all  forms  may  be  seen  in  the 
illustrated  catalogue  of  R.  L.  Allen  &  Co.,  New  York  city. 
For  digging  up  trees,  and  for  setting  fence  stakes  among  roots, 
one  edge  of  the  mattock  should  be  in  the  form  of  an  axe,  for  the 
purpose  of  cutting  roots  and  sprouts.  For  ditching,  or  for  pick 
ing  up  very  hard  dirt,  a  pick  with  a  pointed  end,  instead  of  an 
edge  like  a  mattock,  is  much  the  best,  as  in  the  figure. 

SPOOL   FOB   CHALK   LINE   AND    FENCE   LINE. 
"  The  twisted  lines  curl  into  kinks  and  loops." — HOMER. 

329.  The  majority  of  farmers,  if  they  have  any  chalk  line  at 
all — and  the  same  is  true  of  many  good  mechanics — wind  it  up 
on  a  corn  cob  or  a  stick  of  wood,  notwithstanding  the  very  great 
inconvenience  in  letting  a  line  off,  and  the  injury  it  receives  by 
being  wound  up  and  let  off  over  the  end  of  whatever  it  is  wound 
up  on.  Many  mechanics  have  a  little  pocket  spool  to  wind  the 
line  on,  and  let  it  off  by  holding  it,  as  it  revolves,  with  a  thumb 
at  one  end  and  a  finger  at  the  other.  It  is  a  fact  which  but  very 
few  people  understand,  that  in  winding  up  a  line  or  cord,  or  rope 
of  any  kind,  by  putting  it  over  the  end  of  the  stick  or  spool,  if  it 
is  wound  up  the  same  way  it  was  twisted  when  it  was  made,  it 
will  be  twisted  harder  and  harder  every  time  it  is  wound  up,  and 
will  soon  curl  up,  running  into  all  sorts  of  kinks  and  loops,  while, 
on  the  contrary,  if  it  be  wound  up  in  an  opposite  direction,  it  will 
soon  be  all  untwisted  and  nearly  worthless.  I  have  seen  many 
good  lines  completely  spoiled  in  this  manner,  by  being  always 
wound  up  one  way,  and  then  let  off  by  allowing  the  spool  to 
revolve.  "When  a  line  is  wound  up  over  the  end  of  a  stick,  and 
let  off  over  the  end  it  does  not  injure  it,  providing  it  is  wound 
up  the  way  that  will  twist  it  harder  as  it  is  wound  up.  If  it  is 
twisted  harder  by  winding  up,  and  untwisted  by  letting  it  off 
just  as  much  as  it  was  twisted,  the  line  will  remain  in  the  same 
condition  if  wound  up  few  or  many  times ;  but  when  it  is  wound 
up  in  the  contrary  direction,  which  will  untwist  it,  as  it  is  wound 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


251 


up,  it  will  not  generally  twist  it  as  hard  as  it  ought  to  be  twisted 
by  simply  allowing  it  to  run  off.  These  few  ideas  will  enable 
the  farmer  to  understand  and  to  appreciate  the  FIG.  115. 
importance  of  having  a  spool  like  Fig.  115. 
It  will  be  discovered  by  the  cut  that  there  are 
three  flanges  to  this  spool,  which  are  about 
four  inches  in  diameter,  and  two  inches  between 
them.  A  half-inch  hole  is  bored  through  the 
spool,  and  it  revolves  easily  on  the  part  of  the 
handle  which  passes  through  it,  which  should 
be  made  of  very  tough  wood.  In  letting  off 
the  line,  let  the  workman,  as  one  hand  grasps 
the  handle,  apply  the  thumb  against  one  flange 
of  the  spool  to  keep  it  from  unwinding  too 
rapidly,  and  in  winding  it  up  let  the  spool  be 
turned  by  taking  hold  of  the  wrist-pin  or  little 
handle,  in  one  flange.  By  letting  a  line  off 
such  a  spool,  and  by  winding  it  up  without  SPOOL  FOB  CHALK  LINE. 
passing  it  over  the  end  of  the  spool,  it  will  never  become  un 
twisted,  nor  twisted  so  hard  that  it  will  curl  into  kinks ;  and  a 
line  will  last  much  longer  when  kept  on  such  a  spool  than  it  will 
when  kept  on  a  corn  cob  or  stick,  and  more  than  all  besides,  it  is 
infinitely  more  convenient.  A  chalk  line  is  kept  in  one  gain  and 
a  fence  line  in  the  other.  To  keep  the  other  line  from  unwind 
ing  when  one  is  being  let  off,  cut  a  gash  in  each  flange  with  a 
saw  about  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch  deep,  and  after  the  lines 
are  wound  up  draw  the  ends  into  these  gashes.  Always  have  a 
loop  in  the  end  of  each  line,  for  hooking  on  a  scratch-awl  or  pin. 
330.  When  chalking  the  line,  the  line  should  not  be  allowed  to 
run  across  a  lump  of  chalk,  cutting  gashes  all  through  it,  but  the 
chalk  should  be  held  in  such  a  manner  that  the  line  will  run 
between  the  thumb  and  chalk,  wearing  down  one  side  of  the  chalk. 
A  little  skill  will  enable  a  workman  to  wear  a  piece  of  chalk  all 
out  on  the  line  without  cutting  gashes  all  through  it.  Select  soft 
chalk,  as  hard  chalk  will  not  shed,  and  will  wear  out  the  line. 
For  black  chalk,  a  billet  of  basswood,  burned  to  a  coal,  and  the 


252  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

fire  quenched  by  dipping  it  in  water  quickly,  will  answer  a  good 
purpose. 

THE   HAMMER. 

"  Here  view  the  hammer,  glory  of  our  nation; 

The  universal  emblem  of  mechanics  ; 
The  boasted  empress  of  civilization. 

What  thrilling,  wondrous  stories  in  dynamics, 
Are  told  of  hammers,  back  in  bygone  ages  ! 
How  oft  its  feats  fine  laurels  crowned  !    Wise  sages, 
With  their  fair  hands  the  chaplets  round  entwined, 
And  statesmen,  kings,  with  glory  it  enshrined." — EDWARDS. 

331.  Fig.  116  represents  a  claw  hammer ;  and  the  face  should 
be  of  steel,  so  hard  that  it  will  not  batter  up,  and  not  so  hard 
that  it  will  cleave  off,  and  the  claws  should  be  of  the  same  mate 
rial.  The  handle  should  not  be  round,  but  of  an  oval  form,  so 
that  it  may  be  held  in  the  proper  postion,  when  in  use,  more 

FIG.  116. 


advantageously  than  if  the  handle  were  round.  The  face  should 
be  ground  smooth  and  true  on  a  grindstone,  and  should  be  paral 
lel  with  a  line  cutting  the  centre  of  the  handle,  as  shown  by  the 
dotted  line.  If  the  face  stands  inward  too  much  towards  the 
handle,  or  in  an  opposite  direction,  or  if  the  face  be  convex  or 
one-sided,  or  if  the  corners  be  knocked  off,  it  will  be  a  poor  thing 
to  drive  nails  with.  The  face  of  a  claw  hammer  should  never 
be  used  for  pounding  on  chisel  handles  when  mortising,  because 
the  corners  are  so  sharp  that  it  will  soon  split  them  or  wear  them 
out ;  and  it  should  never  be  used  for  hammering  iron  or  stone, 
lest  the  corners  of  the  face  be  broken  off  or  battered  up.  Make 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL.  253 

it  a  rule  to  use  the  claw  hammer  for  nothing  but  driving  nails 
and  drawing  nails.  If  oil  or  tar  be  on  the  face,  it  will  be  almost 
impossible  to  drive  a  nail  with  it  until  it  has  been  removed.  In 
drawing  a  nail  out  of  hard  wood  with  the  claw,  strike  it  one  or 
two  blows,  enough  to  start  it  in  a  little,  and  it  will  come  out 
much  easier  than  if  it  had  not  been  started  in.  "When  the  hand 
grasps  the  handle,  let  the  thumb  lie  lengthways  of  the  handle, 
instead  of  clasping  it  as  shown  in  the  figure.  With  the  thumb 
on  the  top  of  the  handle  one  can  strike  truer  and  longer  without 
tiring  the  wrist.  In  order  to  drive  a  nail  true,  place  the  hammer 
on  the  nail,  and  then  keep  the  eye  on  the  nail,  when  striking, 
instead  of  on  the  hammer.  Never  try  to  draw  a  nail  with  the 
claws  if  it  will  not  start  without  starting  the  handle  in  the  eye 
of  the  hammer.  If  one  is  always  careful  to  put  a  little  block  or 
piece  of  iron  under  the  hammer  for  a  fulcrum,  there  will  be  little 
danger  of  starting  the  handle.  If  the  hammer  hangs  correctly, 
and  the  handle  gets  bent,  it  will  not  hang  right,  and  will  bend  a 
nail  down  before  it  has  driven  it  in.  If  the  face  of  a  hammer  is 
ground  true,  as  it  should  be,  on  the  grindstone,  not  one-sided  nor 
convex,  and  if  the  face  is  in  a  line  parallel  with  a  line  which 
would  cut  the  centre  of  the  handle  from  end  to  end,  as  in  the 
figure,  and  if  the  handle  is  made  of  a  true  and  oval  form,  there 
will  be  little  danger  of  bending  nails  over  sideways  when  driving 
them.  When  the  handle  of  a  hammer  is  round,  a  workman  can 
not  perceive  ly  feeling  the  handle  whether  a  hammer  is  in  the 
right  position  for  driving  a  nail  or  not ;  but  when  the  handle  is 
of  an  oval  form,  and  is  put  in  the  eye  true,  with  the  widest  way 
of  the  handle  in  the  direction  exactly  from  the  claw  to  the  face, 
after  a  workman  has  become  accustomed  to  a  hammer  he  can 
snatch  it  up  without  looking  at  it,  and  the  perception  of  the  fin 
gers  and  thumb  will-determine  most  accurately  the  correct  posi 
tion  for  driving  a  nail.  If  the  face  of  the  nail  hammer  were  a 
little  concave,  it  would  be  less  liable  to  slip  or  glance  off  when 
driving  nails.  A  good  nail  hammer  is  not  a  proper  tool  to  drive 
wooden  pins  with,  nor  for  driving  any  piece  of  work  together 
with,  because  the  corners  are  so  sharp  that  they  will  split  a  pin 


254:  THE  YOUNG  FAKMER'S   MANUAL. 

very  readily,  and  make  deep  dents  in  the  sides  of  anything  that 
is  hammered  with  it.  Should  the  face  of  a  claw  hammer  be 
come  battered  up,  it  should  be  tempered  again,  and  made  as  hard 
as  it  will  bear  to  be  and  not  fly  or  break  easily.  The  handle  of 
a  hammer  should  have  a  little  bilge  in  it  at  the  point  where  the 
hand  grasps  it,  as  in  the  figure.  If  the  handle  is  made  of  a  uni 
form  size  from  end  to  end,  a  workman  will  be  constantly  losing 
his  hold  ;  whereas  a  little  swell  in  a  handle  will  prevent  its  slip 
ping  in  the  hand. 

THE    SLEDGE    HAMMER. 

332.  Sledge  hammers  are  of  various  forms,   and  are  made, 
when  made  properly,  with  a  reference  to  the  services  which  they 
are  intended  to  perform.     If  a  sledge  is  wanted  simply  to  drive 
stakes  and  posts  for  fencing,  the  best  form  for  such  work  will  be 
a  round  cast-iron  sledge,  with  two  faces,  similar  to  the  beetle. 
The  faces  of  such  a  hammer  should  be  convex  a  little,  and  not 
have  sharp  or  square  corners  like  the  face  of  a  claw  hammer, 
because,  if  the  corners  are  square  or  sharp,  if  a  workman  does 
not  strike  exactly  square  when  driving  a  stake  or  post,  such  sharp 
corners,  will  make  deep  dents  in  them ;  and  they  are  far  more 
liable  to  split  a  post  than  if  the  faces  were  a  little  convex.    But  it 
is  not  well  to  have  the  faces  too  convex  ;  because,  if  they  are  too 
convex  the  efficiency  of  a  blow,  in  driving  wood,  is  partly  lost,  in 
consequence  of  the  great  convexity  of  the  face,  which  bruises  and 
indents  the  wood  more  than  if  the  faces  were  square.     When  the 
pattern  for  such  a  hammer  is  made,  the  convexity  of  the  faces 
should  not  exceed  one-eighth  of  an  inch  across  the  face,  and  the 
sharp  corners  should  be  rounded  off  a  little.    About  twelve  to  six 
teen  pounds  would  be  the  proper  weight  for  a  hammer  of  this 
description.     But  such  a  hammer  should  never  be  used  for  pound 
ing  iron,  nor  for  breaking  stone,  because  cast-iron  hammers  will 
break  easily  when  hammering  substances  harder  than  wood. 

333.  The  handle  for  such  a  hammer  should  be  of  an  oval  form, 
and  of  good  timber,  with  a  knob  at  the  end  of  it  similar  to  the 
beetle  handle,  with  faces  in  lines  parallel  with  a  line  cutting  the 


255 

centre  of  the  handle,  as  shown  at  the  beetle,  Fig.  117;  and  the 
widest  way  of  the  handle  should  be  in  the  direction  from  one  face 
of  the  sledge  to  the  other. 

334.  "When  a  workman  attempts  to  drive  a  post,  for  example, 
with  such  a  hammer,  which  has  a  round  handle,  if  he  is  not  skill 
ful  in  using  such  a  tool,  he  will  not  be  able  to  strike  true,  and  will 
split  half  the  posts  which  he  undertakes  to  drive.     When  the. 
handle  is  round,  such  a  hammer  may  turn  one-fourth  of  the  way 
around  in  the  hands ;  and  unless  the  workman  can  see  the  face  of 
the  hammer,  he  will  not  be  able  to  tell  whether  he  is  going  to 
strike  with  a  corner  or  side,  or  with  the  face  of  the  hammer.     But 
if  the  handle  be  of  an  oval  form,  and  the  hilt  oval,  the  perception 
of  the  hand  will  determine,  very  correctly,  whether  the  face  is  in 
the  proper  position  for  striking  a  square  blow  or  not.      Such 
handles  are  almost  always  made  round ;  and  we  often  see  laborers 
strike,  many  times,  a  half-dozen  blows,  without  starting  a  post  at 
all,  simply  because  they  do  not  strike  true  and  straight ;  and  they 
will  strike  with  a  corner  of  the   sledge,   when   it  will   fly  over 
and  over  in  their  hands,  and  they  will  be  obliged  to  give  it  up 
with  the  exclamation,  "  It  can't  ~be  driven!"  when  the  fault  is  partly 
in  the  tool,  and  partly  in  the  workman. 

335.  When  a  skillful  laborer  attempts  to  drive  a  post  with  such 
a  hammer,  he  will  set  the  sledge  on  the  end  of  the  post,  on  the 
face,  square,  and  at  once  calculate  how  far  to  drop  the  hand  that 
holds  the  hilt,  in  order  to  have  the  hammer  strike  square  ;  and  he 
will  grasp  the  hilt  of  the  handle  firmly  to  prevent  the  sledge  from 
striking  on  one  corner;  and  every  blow,  when  the  face  strikes 
square,  will  crack  as  sharply  as  the  report  of  a  cut  rifle.     But 
when  an  awkward,  unskillful  Jonathan  attempts  to  drive  a  post 
with  a  hammer  having  a  round  handle,  his  blows  sound  as  dull  as 
if  he  struck  a  post  of  India-rubber ;  and  he  will  hammer  the  end 
of  a  post  all  to  slivers,  before  it  is  half  driven  into  the  ground. 
Let  the  farmer  bear  in  mind,  that  in  order  to  have  the  blows  of  a 
hammer  most  effective,  the  face  must  strike  square  against  the 
substance  to  be  driven.     When  striking  heavy  blows,  he  should 
observe  how  he  holds  the  handle  when  he  strikes  an  effective  blow, 


256  THE  YOUNG  FAKMEK'S  MANUAL. 

and  then  endeavor  to  keep  the  hammer  as  nearly  in  that  position 
as  possible  at  every  blow.  A  skillful  laborer  will  usually  strike 
truer  and  more  effective  blows  by  grasping  the  handle  at  the  hilt 
with  loth  hands,  and  swinging  it  at  arms  length  over  his  head. 
But  this  manner  of  swinging  a  heavy  sledge-hammer  is  much 
more  fatiguing  and  laborious  than  to  slide  one  hand  towards  the 
'  sledge  every  time  it  is  elevated. — (Read  paragraph  339.) 

STONE    MAULS 

336.  Are  sometimes  made  of  cast-iron,  for  the  purpose  of  break 
ing  stone ;  and  instead  of  a  flat  face,  one  end  of  the  pattern  is 
rounded  off  to  a  kind  of  conical  obtuse  apex,  while  the  other  end 
is  rounded  in  the  form  of  a  pyramidal  apex,  not  brought  to  a 
sharp  edge,  but  in  the  form  of  a  blacksmith's  swedge  for  making 
a  circular  groove.     A  hammer  of  this  form  will  stand  a  vast 
deal  of  hammering  without  breaking,  but  it  would  be  a  worthless 
tool  to  drive  posts  or  stakes  with,  because  it  would  indent  and 
bruise  and  split  the  end  of  a  post,  without  driving  it  but  little. 
There  are  several  other  kinds  of  hammers,  a  notice  of  which  does 
not  seem  to  come  within  the  province  of  this  work.     But  as  every 
farmer  needs  a  hammer,  besides  the  claw-hammer,  for  riveting,  a 
few  words  with  reference  to 

THE    RIVETING    HAMMER 

337.  May  not  be  out  of  place,  which  for  ordinary  purposes 
should  weigh  about  one  pound.     If  it  be  too  heavy,  rivets  are 
very  apt  to  lend  in  consequence  of  too  heavy  a  blow,  when  spread 
ing  the  ends  of  them  with  the  hammer.     The  face  of  a  riveting 
hammer  should  be  a  little  convex,  and  the  edge  of  it  should  be 
acute  enough  to  dent  or  spread  the  ends  of  a  rivet  readily ;  and 
it  should  not  be  so  sharp  as  to  cut  the  iron  when  riveting.     Light 
blows  made  with  a  light  hammer  are  more  effective  in  spreading 
a  rivet  than  a  blow  of  an  equal  momentum  made  with  a  heavier 
hammer.     A  riveting  hammer  should  have  a  longer  handle  than 
an  ordinary  claw  hammer,  in  order  to  give  a  greater  velocity  to  it 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  257 

in  striking.  It  is  not  very  practicable  to  spread  the  end  of  a 
small  rivet  with  a  hammer  that  weighs  two  or  three  pounds, 
because  a  stroke  with  such  a  hammer  would  be  so  heavy  as  to 
crush  or  double  a  rivet  before  the  end  could  be  spread.  Riveting 
hammers  of  almost  any  desirable  size  may  be  obtained  at  most  of 
the  hardware  stores.  (See  MOMENTUM,  in  the  next  volume.) 


THE    MALLET    AND    BEETLE. 

"The  beetle,  now  twin-brother  of  the  hammer, 
Holds  equal  rank  in  pounding  and  for  clamor  ; 
Unlike  the  hammer  with  its  flinty  face, 
The  beetle,  in  close  impact,  yields  an  ace."— EDWARDS. 

338.  A  mallet  should  be  made  of  some  very  hard  wood ;  and 
if  it  be  not  made  of  a  knot,  the  ends  of  it  should  be  banded  like 
the  beetle,  to  keep  it  from  splitting.  That  part  of  a  tree,  if  it  be 
tough  wood,  which  grows  just  above  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
which  is  called  the  crook,  will  make  the  very  best  mallets,  which 
will  require  no  hooping.  I  have  a  mallet  which  was  made  of 
the  crook  of  a  part  of  a  white  ash  stump,  which  has  been  the  only 
mallet  in  use  for  framing  all  my  buildings,  and  doing  all  my  shop 
work  for  sixteen  years,  and  it  is  not  half  worn  out  as  yet.  A 
mallet  should  be  turned  out  true,  with  the  ends  convex  or  rounding, 
not  less  than  half  an  inch  from  edge  to  edge.  The  handle  should 
be  put  in  true,  so  that  the  faces  will  be  parallel  with  the  handle,  as 
shown  in  the  Fig.  117.  Let  it  be  well  oiled  to  prevent  its  crack 
ing.  Never  allow  the  faces  of  the  mallet  to  be  bruised  and  dented 
on  iron  bolts  and  the  like,  but  keep  it  smooth  for  pounding  on 
chisel  handles  only.  A  tough  piece  of  apple-wood  will  make 
about  as  good  a  mallet  as  almost  any  other  kind  of  wood.  But  if 
it  is  made  of  a  round  piece  of  wood,  on  account  of  its  great  liability 
to  check,  it  should  be  treated  as  recommended  for 


BEETLES. 

339.  Figure  117  represents  a  farmer's  beetle,  made  in  a  work- 


258  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

manlike  manner.     Beetles  should  always  be  turned  true,  and  the 
-p        , , ,_  handle  turned  of  an  oval 

form,  (see  SLEDGE  HAM 
MER,  paragraph  332,) 
and  put  in  very  true,  so 
that  a  line  cutting  the 
centre  of  the  handle  will 
be  exactly  parallel  with 
lines  continued  square 

A    WOODEX    BEETLE.  .  i  j  f 

across  the  ends  or  face 

of  the  beetle,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines,  Fig.  117.  The  beetle 
should  hang  as  nearly  like  the  sledge  hammer  as  possible;  and 
the  reader  can  refer  to  that  paragraph  (333)  for  the  information 
which  seems  to  be  lacking  in  this  place. 

340.  Beetles  should  be  made  of  very  firm,  tough  wood,  such  as 
the  butt  end  of  a  small  locust,  iron-wood,  or  apple-wood.  If  a 
beetle  is  to  be  made  of  a  round  stick,  which  has  the  heart  of  the 
tree  in  the  centre,  when  the  timber  is  green,  a  lot  of  beetles 
should  be  sawed  off,  about  eight  or  nine  inches  long,  in  late 
autumn,  and  an  inch  and  a  half  hole  bored  lengthwise  through  the 
centre  of  the  sticks  ;  and  they  should  be  allowed  to  season  during 
the  winter,  not  in  a  stove  room,  lest  they  check  badly,  but  under 
shelter.  The  object  of  the  hole  in  the  centre  is,  to  allow  the 
timber  to  settle  together,  without  cracking  or  checking.  When 
they  are  made  of  split  pieces  of  wood,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to 
bore  them,  as  they  will  not  check  like  a  stick  with  the  heart  in  it. 
(See  SEASONING  TIMBER,  in  next  vol.)  When  they  are  seasoned 
thoroughly,  turn  out  a  tough  stick,  just  large  enough  to  drive 
through  the  beetle,  and  turn  out  the  beetle  like  the  figure,  with  a 
shoulder  two  inches  from  each  end,  leaving  the  ends  just  large 
enough  to  receive  the  rings  when  they  are  red  hot.  (See  EX 
PANSIVE  FORCE,  in  next  vol.)  By  heating  the  rings  before  put 
ting  them  on,  and  driving  them  down  to  the  shoulder  while  hot, 
and  then  by  cooling  them  quickly,  before  they  have  time  to  burn 
the  beetle  but  little,  they  will,  by  contracting,  become  so  tight 
that  they  will  remain  tight  until  the  beetle  is  worn  out,  without 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL.  259 

wedging.  Should  they  become  loose,  let  them  be  wedged  well 
with  wedges  of  hard,  tough  timber.  (See  paragraph  345.)  Many 
men  will  wedge  such  things  with  wedges  of  soft  timber;  but 
every  good  mechanic  who  knows  anything  about  driving  wedges, 
will  tell  you,  that  anything  can  be  wedged  very  much  tighter  with 
hard  wood  wedges  than  with  wedges  of  soft  wood.  Use  an  inch 
framing  chisel  (see  Fig.  156)  for  making  checks  in  the  ends  of  a 
beetle  for  the  wedges ;  and  make  the  wedges  a  sixteenth  of  an 
inch  wider  than  the  chisel,  and  then  they  will  not  work  out. 
Some  men  prefer  to  have  a  beetle  made  without  any  shoulder  for 
the  rings,  but  my  experience  teaches  me,  that  a  beetle  will  wear 
longer,  and  the  rings  remain  true  longer,  when  it  is  made  with 
shoulders,  than  when  it  is  made  of  a  true  taper,  without  shoulders 
for  the  rings ;  because,  if  a  laborer  happens  to  strike  mostly  on 
one  side  of  the  end  of  a  beetle,  unless  the  rings  are  so  tight  that 
they  cannot  be  moved  by  much  pounding,  one  side  of  the  rings 
will  be  driven  on  farther  than  the  other,  and  the  faces  will  soon 
become  one-sided]  and  then  it  wi]l  be  an  awkward  tool  to  strike 
with.  And  if  the  rings  are  not  very  tight,  when  the  wood  begins 
to  batter  and  spread  over  them  they  will  drive  on  towards  the 
middle  of  the  beetle,  and  a  beetle  will  be  all  stove  up  and  worth 
less  before  it  is  half  worn  out. 

341.  The  size  of  the  different  parts  of  an  ordinary  beetle  is  about 
as  follows :  beetle  eight  or  nine  inches  long,  shoulders  two  inches, 
rings,  of  the  best  of  iron,  one  inch  wide,  about  three-eighths  of  an 
inch  thick,  and  about  large  enough  to  go  on  the  end  of  a  beetle, 
five  inches  in  diameter,  and  handle  about  thirty  inches  long.  For 
a  strong  man  the  handle  should  be  longer  than  for  boys,  or  men 
of  inferior  strength.  "Where  the  handle  enters  the  head,  it  should 
not  be  less  than  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter.  The  hilt  and 
straight  part  of  the  handle  may  be  made  to  suit  the  size  of  the 
laborer's  hands.  A  man  with  small  hands  and  short  fingers  needs 
a  smaller  handle  than  he  who  has  very  large  hands,  with  fingers 
of  a  corresponding  length.  Great  care  should  be  exercised  in 
putting  in  the  handle,  lest  it  stand  as  shown  by  the  dotted  handle 
in  the  figure.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  handles  standing 


260 

at  such  an  angle ;  and  when  they  do,  we  hear  those  who  use 
such  beetles  complain  of  having  their  hands  hurt  often  by  the  jar, 
in  consequence  of  not  hitting  the  wedges  true ;  and  more  than  all 
else,  beetles  that  are  hung  one-sided,  wear  one-sided ;  and  as  they 
usually  in  striking  hit  one  corner  or  one  side  of  the  top  of  an  iron 
wedge,  they  will  not  wear  as  long,  nor  will  the  force  of  driving, 
when  the  beetle  is  in  use,  be  half  as  effective  as  if  the  face  struck 
the  wedge  perfectly  square.  (See  USING  SLEDGE,  paragraph  335.) 
After  the  rings  have  been  but  on  and  the  handle  driven  in,  make 
two  plugs  of  hard  wood,  and  drive  them  in  the  ends  of  the  beetle 
very  tightly,  and  saw  them  off  even  with  the  surface ;  it  is  then 
ready  for  use. 

HANDLING   A   BEETLE. 

342.  It  is  often  very  amusing  to  see  how  awkwardly  and  ineffi 
ciently  many  laborers  handle  a  beetle  in  splitting  wood  or  rails, 
or  anything  else.  One  blow  will  be  on  one  corner  of  an  iron 
wedge,  and  the  next  blow  will  be  on  another  corner,  and  the  next 
one  will  be  in  such  a  manner  that  one  corner  of  the  wedge  and 
beetle  ring  will  come  in  contact,  and  the  beetle  will  roll  over  and 
over,  and  very  likely  will  fly  half  a  rod ;  and  when  the  laborer  goes 
to  get  his  beetle  again,  he  will  not  unlikely  find  a  ring  bro 
ken.  When  beetle  rings  are  put  on  as  tightly  as  they  ought 
to  be,  one  or  two  awkward  blows  with  the  beetle,  in  such  an 
unskillful  manner  that  the  iron  wedge  and  beetle  ring  will  come 
in  contact,  will  snap  a  ring  asunder  instantaneously,  unless  it  is  of 
the  very  best  iron;  and  even  then  rings  will  often  break,  es 
pecially  in  frosty  weather,  when  the  blow  is  not  very  powerful. 
Laborers  ought  to  know — but  I  blush  to  say  that  one  in  fifty  does 
not  know — that  when  the  face  of  a  beetle  is  struck  on  the  corner 
of  an  iron  wedge,  the  blow  is  not  half  as  effective  as  it  would  be 
if  the  face  struck  the  head  of  the  wedge  entirely  square.  And 
more  than  all  this,  when  all  the  blows  are  applied  to  a  corner  of 
the  wedge,  a  beetle  will  be  completely  worn  out  before  it  has 
performed  one-fourth  of  the  service  that  it  would  have  done  had 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  261 

the  blows  been  applied  in  such  a  manner  that  the  face  of  the  beetle 
and  head  of  the  wedge  came  together  square,  as  they  should  come. 
It  is  most  surprising  to  witness  how  long  a  good  beetle  will  last 
some  laborers,  and  how  much  they  will  use  it  at  hard  pounding, 
while,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  still  more  surprising  to  see  how  very 
soon  another  laborer  will  use  up  a  good  beetle,  before  he  has  used 
it  enough  to  begin  to  even  think  of  its  being  worn  out.  The  first 
alluded  to  always  strike  very  true  and  square,  while  the  latter 
deal  their  blows  in  every  imaginable  way  but  square  and  true. 
A  laborer  who  handles  his  beetle  with  skill,  will  pound  very  hard 
on  his  wedges  all  day,  and  the  faces  of  the  beetle  will  be  battered 
but  little,  while  he  who  strikes  awkwardly  with  a  beetle  just  as 
good  as  the  other,  will  use  it  up  in  one  day,  as  if  it  had  been  in 
hard  service  for  a  week  or  more.  It  is  all  folly  to  use  up  beetles 
at  such  a  rate,  and  a  laborer  ought  to  know  better  than  to  strike 
a  ring  on  an  iron  wedge,  or  to  strike  a  corner  of  a  wedge  with  the 
face  of  the  beetle. 

343.  In  whatever  position  a  wedge  may  be  standing,  place  the 
face  of  the  beetle  and  head  of  the  wedge  square  together,  then  grasp 
the  hilt  of  the  handle  firmly,  and  be  careful  to  make  every  blow 
square,  and  not  on  one  side  of  the  face  of  the  beetle,  but  as  nearly 
in  the  centre  of  it  as  may  be.  If  a  wedge  leans  a  little,  or  varies 
its  position  as  it  is  driven  in,  let  the  position  of  the  beetle  be 
varied  accordingly,  so  as  to  have  the  beetle  and  wedge  strike  each 
other  exactly  square.  By  exercising  a  little  skill  in  this  respect,  a 
laborer  will  very  soon  find  that  he  will  be  able  to  drive  a  wedge 
with  half  the  number  of  blows,  and  not  use  up  his  beetle  one- 
fourth  as  much  as  when  he  deals  his  blows  every  way  lut  square 
on  the  head  of  the  wedge  and  face  of  the  beetle.  (Read  the 
paragraphs  on  the  HAMMER  AND  SLEDGE,  331.)  As  beetle  and 
wedges  are  used  together,  I  shall  now  notice 


262 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


THE  WEDGE.  -  HOW  TO  MAKE  WEDGES. 

M  The  mighty  power  of  the  wedge  to  sever 
Both  flinty  rocks  and  gnarls,  exceeds  the  lever. 
Impelled  by  force  of  oft-repeated  blows, 
In  splitting,  piercing,  cutting,  and  in  cleaving, 
Or  rending  right  and  left,  or  in  upheaving  — 
Unlike  the  screw  its  power  no  measure  knows."  —  EDWARDS. 

344.  Fig.   118  represents  a  well-formed  iron  wedge,  and  a  is 
the  head,  b  is  one  of  the  sides,  d  is  one  of  the  edges,  and  e  is  the 


118 


FIGURES 
119,       120, 


entering  edge.  A  wedge  will  not 
rebound  as  readily  when  the  cor 
ners  at  the  entering  edge  are  made 
flush,  or  square,  like  the  figure,  as 
it  will  when  the  corners  are  round 
ed  off  very  much  like  the  edge  of 
an  old  axe,  the  corners  of  which 
are  well  ground  off.  Sharp  cor 
ners  of  an  iron  wedge  make  it 
stick  when  entering. 

345.  Fig.  119  is  a  very  ill- 
shapen  wedge,  but  very  like  the 
iron  wedges  which  many  laborers 
use,  and  exactly  like  the  wooden 
wedges  which  are  often  made  with  the  false  impression  that  they 
will  be  more  effective  of  such  a  form  than  if  they  were  like  Fig. 
118.  But  wooden  wedges  of  such  a  form  cannot  possibly  be  as 
effective  for  any  purpose  as  if  they  were  like  Fig.  118,  because 
small  wedges  of  such  an  ill  form  will  be  crushed  at  the  entering 
point  before  they  are  half  driven  in  ;  and  if  large  wedges  are 
made  of  such  a  form,  it  requires  a  greater  number  of  blows  to 
drive  one  in  far  enough  to  open  a  log  two  inches. 

346.  Every  author  whose  writings  I  have  consulted  on  the 
subject  of  the  wedge  has  simple  spoken  of  it  in  philosophical  or 
theoretical  terms,  and  the  most  important  considerations  which 
affect,  directly  or  remotely,  many  of  the  operations  of  the  farm, 
and  which  are  all-important  for  the  beginner  to  understand,  have 
been  entirely  overlooked  or  rejected  ;  and  what  has  been  penned 


263 

in  reference  to  the  wedge,  if  put  into  practice  according  to  the 
strict  letter  of  the  various  writers,  will,  in  practice,  lead  the  begin 
ner  into  most  egregious  errors.  The  wedge  has  always  been 
considered  as  a  double  inclined  plane,  and  its  efficiency  has  been 
spoken  of  as  being  in  proportion  to  the  acuteness  and  length  of  its 
sides.  Theoretically  speaking,  this  is  all  correct ;  but,  in  prac 
tice^  no  principle  in  philosophy  proves  to  be  more  errone 
ous  than  this.  Theory  would  teach  the  farmer  to  make 
his  wedges,  in  order  to  be  most  effective  when  impelled  by  a 
given  force,  sixteen  or  twenty,  or  more,  feet  in  length.  But 
practice  instructs  us  that  there  is  a  certain  length  for  a  wedge, 
and  thickness  for  the  head,  which  is  much  more  effective,  when 
impelled  by  a  given  force,  than  if  it  were  longer  or  shorter. 
Every  man  who  has  split  much  timber  knows  too  well,  that  a 
wedge  of  the  proper  length  and  thickness  can  be  driven  into  a 
log  with  less  force  than  one  of  the  same  thickness  which  is  twice 
as  long,  to  say  nothing  of  a  short  and  blunt  wedge.  Now  this 
is  what  the  beginner  wants  to  know  ;  he  needs  something  tangi 
ble — some  instruction  in  making  wedges  that  will  render  his 
labor  as  light  and  effective  as  possible.  Suppose,  for  instance, 
an  iron  wedge  is  two  inches  square  at  the  head,  and  its 
sides  of  a  true  taper  to  the  edge,  and  twelve  or  more  feet  long. 
Theory  would  instruct  us,  that  a  wedge  of  such  dimensions  could 
be  driven  with  less  force  than  one  about  ten  inches  long,  of  a 
true  taper  to  the  edge,  with  the  head  of  the  size  already  men 
tioned.  But,  in  practice,  we  find  that  such  a  long  wedge  would 
be  utterly  useless,  because  it  would  not  possess  sufficient  strength 
to  resist  the  force  of  heavy  blows  without  being  crushed  or 
doubled  up  in  places,  and  it  would  be  very  liable  to  twist 
and  turn  wherever  the  grain  of  the  timber  ran ;  and,  more 
than  all  else  beside,  it  would  require  three  times  as  many  blows 
to  drive  it  up  to  the  head  at  it  would  require  to  drive  a  wedge 
of  the  proper  dimensions,  and  the  friction  would  be  so  incal 
culably  great  in  such  a  long  wedge,  that  it  is  not  at  all  proba 
ble  that  the  force  exerted  by  one  man  with  a  beetle  would  be 
sufficient  to  drive  such  a  wedge  clear  to  the  head,  even  were  it 


264  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

sufficiently  strong  to  bear  driving.  And  even  if  such  long 
wedges  were  most  effective,  they  would  be  most  inconvenient 
and  unwieldy  tools.  As  the  friction  in  driving  wedges  is 
usually  so  intense,  the  idea  of  an  intelligent  laborer  always  is,  to 
have  the  most  economical  and  convenient  amount  of  surface  in  the 
sides  of  the  wedge,  which  will  prove  most  effective  under  a  given 
number  of  blows.  This  leads  us  to  speak  of 

THE  MOST  CONVENIENT  AND  EFFECTIVE    DIMENSIONS   OF   WEDGES. 

347.  Iron  wedges  for  splitting  timber  should  always  be  so 
thick  and  strong  that  they  will  not  bend  nor  twist,  even  when 
driven  into  the  toughest  knots  and  gnarls.     The  size  which  has 
been  found  in  practice  to  be  the  most  convenient  and  effective  for 
ordinary  purposes,  is  about  ten  inches  long,  two  and  a  half  inches 
wide,  and  about  two  inches  in  thickness  at  the  head,  and  of  a  true 
taper  to  the  entering  edge,  which  should  not  be  brought  entirely 
to  a  feather  edge ;   but  the  entering  edge  should  be  left  about  a 
sixteenth  of  an  inch  thick  when  it  is  tempered,  and  then  ground 
off  to  a  sharp  edge,  like  the  edge  of  an  axe  (see  Fig.  152).     The 
entering  edge  of#  iron  wedges  should  be  made  of  steel,  and  tem 
pered  about  as  hard  as  for  cold-chisels.      Iron  wedges  may  be 
smaller  than  this,  or  larger,  if  desired ;  but  it  is  just  as  well,  when 
a  man  has  two  wedges  of  the  size  just  mentioned,  to  have  gluts, 
as  large  iron  wedges  are  rather  costly,  and  are  no  better  follow 
ing  in  a  check  made  by  iron  wedges  than  a  good  glut. 

348.  One  very  important  consideration,  which  has  been  and 
is  entirely  overlooked  by  laborers,  is,  to  have  their  iron  wedges 
in  the  most  proper  order.     The  head  should  be  a  little  convex, 
and  the  sharp  corners  on  the  edge  smoothed  off  a  little,  so  that 
they  will  not  cut  the  face  of  the  beetle.     The  two  edges  and  two 
sides  should  be  hammered  as  true  as  is  convenient,  and  then 
they  should  be  ground  off  on  the  grindstone  as  smoothly  and 
true  as  the  blade  of  a  saw.     After  the  sides  are  ground  smooth, 
if  they  were  polished  they  would  enter  their  whole  length  with 
less  than  half  the  number  of  blows  which  would  be  required  to 
drive  the  same  wedge  unpolished  and  all  battered  up,  as  wedges 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  265 

usually  are.  Laborers  are  not  aware  how  much  unnecessary 
hard  pounding  they  perform  when  the  entering  wedge  is  very 
dull  and  the  sides  uneven  and  rough ;  and  they  will  not  believe 
that  there  is  really  any  difference,  after  all,  in  driving  rough 
and  smooth  wedges,  until  they  have  some  ocular  proof  of  the 
fact.  But  let  the  beginner,  or  any  one  else,  rest  assured  that 
it  will  abundantly  remunerate  him,  in  saving  hard  labor,  to 
polish  the  sides  of  iron  wedges,  and  to  keep  them  smooth  and 
the  entering  edge  sharp. 

349.  Is  it  suggested  that  if  well  polished  and  sharp  they  will 
not  stick  as  well  as  if  left  rough  and  uneven  ?     I  know,  and  any 
one  can  try  the  experiment,  that  a  polished  and  sharp  wedge  will 
not  recoil  when  splitting  green  or  frozen  timber,  half  as  often  as 
a  dull  and  rough  wedge ;  and  with  sharp  and  well-polished  wedges 
a  laborer  would  be  able  to  split  frozen  timber  many  times  when 
it  would  be  impracticable  to  do  anything  with  it  if  the  wedges 
were  dull  and  rough.     Iron  wedges  should  never  be  driven  with 
an  instrument  of  iron,  because  it  would  soon  batter  and  spread 
the  heads,  and  destroy  their  proper  shape.     When  wedges  are 
driven  with  an  iron  beetle,  they  soon  become  in  shape  like  Fig. 
119,  with  the  head  spread  so  that  the  sides  are  not  of  a  true 
taper.     When  it  is  almost  impossible  to  make  a  wedge  stick  in 
green  or  frozen  timber,  by  having  the  wedge  quite  warm,  or  by 
driving  a  little  wedge  made  of  dry  wood  into  the  check,  and 
then  driving  the  iron  wedge  into  the  dry  wedge,  it  will  usually 
stick.     Some  laborers  drive  a  little  flat  stone  into  the  check  where 
the  wedge  is  started,  and  then  drive  the  wedge  into  the  stone  in 
order  to  make  it  stick  ;  but  stone  will  usually  make  the  sides  of  a 
wedge  rough,  so  that  it  will  drive  hard. 

GLUTS 

350.  Are  large  wooden  wedges,  and  are  not  to  be  driven  into 
the  solid  timber  like  ^an  iron  wedge,  but  into  the  checks  which 
have  been  formed  by  the  iron  wedges.     They  are  usually  made 
of  round  sticks  of  timber,  with  two  sides  flattened  at  about  tho 
same  angle  of  iron  wedges.     A  lot  of  sticks  ought  to  be  sawed 


266  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

of  the  proper  length,  and  laid  up  under  shelter  in  a  safe  place, 
where  they  will  be  seasoned  and  ready  for  use  when  gluts  are 
needed.  None  but  the  hardest  and  toughest  timber  should  be  used 
for  gluts,  and  if  made  when  the  timber  is  green,  they  will  check 
less,  and  it  is  not  half  the  work  to  make  them  that  it  would  be 
to  make  them  after  they  are  seasoned.  Laborers  generally  make 
no  provision  for  gluts  until  they  arrive  at  the  woods,  or  where 
they  are  to  labor,  and  then  they  will  make  gluts  of  the  limbs  of 
a  green  tree,  which  are  very  poor  things  for  such  a  purpose,  and 
spend  time  enough  to  no  good  purpose,  to  pay  for  half  a  dozen 
well-made  gluts.  And,  more  than  this,  gluts  made  of  green 
timber  will  seldom  last  one  quarter  as  long  as  if  seasoned,  and 
they  require,  many  times,  twice  as  many  blows  to  drive  them  as 
if  they  were  seasoned.  And  another  thing  of  importance  is,  it 
is  not  at  all  practicable  to  make  a  glut  in  a  workmanlike  manner 
with  the  axe  only.  I  know  that  they  are  usually  made  with  no 
other  tool  but  the  axe,  and  they  are  made  of  every  imaginable 
shape  and  form,  like  Fig.  119,  or  like  Fig.  120,  which  shows  an 
edge  view  of  a  glut  which  has  been  made  with  the  axe  alone. 
It  will  be  discovered  that  the  face  sides  of  Fig.  120,  which  should 
be  as  true  and  smooth  as  the  face  of  a  plane,  are  very  rough  and 
hacked  up,  and  not  of  a  true  taper,  and  will  require  more  than 
twice  as  many  blows  to  drive  it  than  if  it  were  true  and  smooth. 
He  who  wishes  to  appropriate  all  his  strength,  or  the  strength  of 
his  laborers,  to  the  most  effective  purpose  when  splitting  timber, 
will  make  his  gluts  at  the  work-shop,  and  have  them  well  sea 
soned  before  they  are  used. 

351.  The  most  pro/cr  manner  of  making  a  glut  is,  to  dress  it 
off  with  an  axe  as  true  and  smooth  as  practicable,  leaving  the 
entering  edge  never  less  than  half  an  inch  thick.  In  large  gluts 
the  entering  edge  should  be  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  thickness. 
Then,  put  it  in  the  vise  and  plane  it  off  true  and  smooth,  and 
round  the  corners  of  the  head  and  the  corners  of  the  entering 
edge  with  the  drawing-knife,  as  shown  at  Fig.  121,  which  repre 
sents  a  view  of  the  face  side  of  a  well-made  glut.  If  the  enter 
ing  edg^  of  a  glut  is  reduced  in  making  it  to  a  feather  edge,  it 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


267 


will  be  very  liable  to  be  split  and  shivered  to  splinters,  when  it 
happens  to  be  driven  on  to,  or  among  slivers.  It  may  seem,  too, 
unnecessary  to  finish  the  face  sides  of  a  glut  with  a  plane ;  but 
let  two  wedge's  be  finished,  one  with  a  plane,  as  directed,  and  the 
other  with  an  axe  only,  and  a  laborer  of  keen  perception  will 
quickly  tell  which  will  drive  the  easier.  If  a  glut  is  not  smooth 
and  true  on  the  face  sides,  it  will  be  far  more  liable  to  recoil,  or 
"bound  out,"  when  opening  a  log.  Wedges  of  every  descrip 
tion  should  be  smooth  and  true. 


BORING    MACHINE. 

352.  At  paragraph  89  allusion  has  been  made  to  a  boring 
machine,  for  boring  fence  caps.  But  as  there  is  so  much  boring 
to  be  performed  in  making  the  different  styles  of  fence,  I  have 
thought  best  to  give  a  cut  of  a  very  cheap  and  efficient  boring 
machine  which  I  have  had  in  successful  operation  for  several 
years. 

FIG.  122. 


FERGUSON  ALBANY 


BORING    MACHINE. 


353.  Fig.  122  represents  a  perspective  view  of  the  machine, 
the  frame  of   which  is  made  of  square    scantling,   3   by  3,  of 


268  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

any  desired  length  to  suit  the  length  of  mandrel,  length  of 
auger,  and  materials  to  be  bored.  It  is  about  three  feet  wide, 
and  from  two  to  three  feet  high,  to  correspond  with  the 
stature  of  the  workman  who  uses  it.  Fence  posts,  fence 
caps,  bar  posts,  or  anything  else  to  be  bored,  are  laid  on  the 
slide  a,  to  which  a  strap  of  leather  b  is  fastened,  which  strap 
passes  around  a  pulley-roller  c,  and  then  is  carried  back  under 
the  slide  a,  over  another  pulley  roller,  as  seen  in  the  end  of  the 
frame,  and  is  fastened  to  a  treadle.  The  slide  a  has  gains  in 
the  under  side  of  it,  which  fit  neatly  to  the  top  pieces  of  the 
frame,  so  that  it  can  slide  back  and  forth  toward  the  auger.  If 
it  does  not  fit  well,  and  one  end  is  allowed  to  be  moved  faster 
than  the  other  end,  a  post  will  not  be  bored  at  a  right  angle. 
(See  BANGING  SAWS,  paragraph  679.) 

354.  The  way  to  lore  with  it. — Place  a  post  on  the  slide  a, 
and  stand  at  the  end  of  the  machine,  having  hold  of  the  slide 
with  each  hand,  and  when  the  auger  revolves  place  one  foot  on 
the  treadle  and  press  downwards  with  it,  and  push  a  little  with 
the  hands.     As  soon  as  a  hole  is  bored,  remove  the  foot  and 
draw  back  the  slide.     "When  the  stuff  to  be  bored  is  small,  lay 
some  pieces  of  board  on  the  slide  a,  in  order  to  adjust  the  height 
to  correspond  with  the  auger.     To  bore  holes  diagonally,  nail 
pieces  of  board  on  one  end  of  the  slide,  to  serve  as  a  gauge  to 
hold  the  material  to  be  bored  in  a  diagonal  position. 

355.  This  machine  may  be   worked  by  hand,  or  it  may  be 
driven  by  any  kind  of  horse  power.     Pullies  of  various  sizes  may 
be  placed  on  the  mandrel,  and  for  boring  small  holes  it  may  re 
volve  as  rapidly  as  the  journal  of  a  circular  saw.       "When  large 
holes — say  four  or  more  inches  in  diameter — are   to  be  bored, 
the  pulley  on  the  mandrel  should  be  so  large  that  it  will  revolve 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  times  in  a  minute.     One  horse 
turns  my  auger  when  boring  four-inch  holes  in  hard  timber,  and 
the  auger  revolves  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  times  per  min- 
nute.      Now,  if  it  were  driven  by  a  smaller  pulley,  that  would 
make  it  revolve  twice  as  rapidly,  it  would  require  two  horses  to 
turn  it  in  order  to  keep  boring  constantly. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


269 


HOW    TO     OBTAIN   SUCH   A   BORING   MACHINE. 

356.  If  you  go  to  the  machine  shop  and  order  such  a  machine, 


it  will  cost  not  less  than  about 
$20.  I  have  cuts  of  patent  bor 
ing  machines  which  cost  from  $30 
to  $50.  But  farmers  do  not  wish 
to  pay  $30  or  $40  for  a  ma 
chine  which  can  be  afforded  for  six 
or  seven  dollars,  which  will  sub 
serve  every  good  purpose,  and  last 
a  whole  life-time.  It  is  all  folly  to 
pay  mechanics  an  extortionate  price 
for  turning,  filing  and  polishing  a 
piece  of  isoarse  work,  which  will 
not  add  in  the  least  to  the  dura 
bility  or  efficiency  of  a  machine. 

357.  In   the  first  place,  if  you 
are  not  mechanic  enough  to  make 
the  frame,    employ  a  good  joiner 
by  the  day,  who  will  be  able,  if  he 
can  perform  a  faithful  day's  work, 
to  make  all   the  wood-work  in  a 
day  and  a  half. 

358.  Next,  write  Wales  French, 
68    Beekman    street,    New   York 
city,  or  to  Westville,   Conn.,   and 
procure  a  patent  extension-lip  bit, 
which  is  represented  by  Fig.  123, 
with  which  holes  of  any  size  larger 
than  two  inches  may  be  bored  with 
one  bit.     A  is  the  adjustable  ex 
tension    cutter,  which  is    adjusted 
in  the  mortise  of  the  main  part  of 
the    shank    b    by  a  set   screw  or 
key.      Two   spur  cutters   c  c  cut 
the    shaving    or    chips,  making   a 


FIG.  123. 


BORING    MACHINE. 


270 

clean,  smooth  hole.  D  represents  an  edge  view  of  the  extension 
cutter,  separate  from  the  shank  5.  The  entire  auger  should  not  be 
more  than  one  foot  long.  Order  the  end  of  the  shank  made 
round,  to  fit  a  hole  or  socket  in  the  end  of  the  mandrel  (see 
Fig.  124),  instead  of  having  it  square,  because  it  can  be  fitted 
to  run  true  with  less  work  when  the  socket  is  round.  The 
next  thing  will  be, 

THE  MANDREL, 

which  is  represented  by  Fig.  124.  Take  a  round  bar  of  inch- 
and-a-half  iron,  eighteen  inches  long,  to  the  machine-shop,  and 
have  two  bearings  a  a  turned  and  polished  (see  FITTING  UP 

FIG.  124. 


THE  MANDREL. 


MACHINERY,  next  vol.),  and  fitted  to  two  iron  boxes ;  have  the 
shank  of  the  auger  fitted  to  the  end  of  the  mandrel,  and  have  a 
small  hole  bored  through  the  mandrel,  at  the  end  or  bottom  of 
the  socket,  so  that  a  punch  may  be  driven  in  to  force  out  the 
shank  of  the  auger.  The  shape  of  the  rocket  is  shown  by  the 
dotted  lines  at  the  end  of  the  mandrel.  Have  a  fly-wheel  I  and 
large  pulley  c  keyed  on  the  mandrel,  and  have  a  small  bolt  put 


271 

through  the  end  of  crank  and  mandrel.  The  bearing  a  nearest 
the  crank  should  be  turned  an  inch  in  diameter,  in  order  to  form 
a  good  shoulder ;  and  the  other  bearing  should  be  an  inch  and 
a  fourth  in  diameter,  as  more  strain  will  come  on  that  when  bor 
ing.  A  hoop  of  band  iron  may  be  put  on  the  fly  or  balance 
wheel,  about  three  inches  wide,  and  may  be  used  for  a  pulley  in 
boring  large  holes.  Always  take  off  the  crank  when  boring  with 
a  horse ;  because  a  crank  will  produce  a  tremulous  motion  unless 
there  is  a  corresponding  weight  on  the  other  side  of  the  mandrel. 
(See  BALANCING  MACHINERY,  in  next  vol.) 

359.  If  one  has  a  horse  saw,  or  straw-cutter,   or  threshing- 
machine  cylinder,  have  a  hole  bored  in  one  end  of  the  journal, 
for  the  auger,  and  make  the  frame  of  the  boring  machine  to  re 
ceive  the  shaft  of  saw  or  shaft  of  straw-cutter.     This  will  save 
the  expense  of  a  mandrel.     A  hole  may  be  bored  for  the  auger  in 
the  end  of  the  shaft  for  twenty-five  cents.      Then,  the   cost  of 
auger,  $2  50,  frame  and  fixtures,  $4  00=$6  50,  will  cover  the 
whole  expense,  besides  the  mandrel,  of  as  good  a  boring  machine 
as  any  farmer  can  desire. 

A  GRASS  HOOK,  OR  DUTCH  GRASS  SICKLE. 

360.  Fig.  125  represents  an  instrument  for  pruning  or  trim 
ming  hedges  after  they  have  grown  too    high    to    be    clipped 
with  a  stiflj  sharp  grass  scythe.     They  should  be  heavier  than  a 

FIG.  125. 


A   GRASS  HOOK. 


common  grain  sickle,  having  a  sharp  fine  edge — and  not  a  sickle 
edge.  They  may  be  obtained  at  R.  L.  Allen's  Agricultural 
"Warehouse,  189  Water  street,  New  York  city. 

361.  For  the  first  two  or  three  seasons,  the  best  instrument  for 
12 


272  THE  YOUNG  FAKMER's  MANUAL. 

clipping  a  hedge  is  a  good  grass  scythe.  After  this  time  there  is 
no  better  instrument  than  such  a  sickle,  according  to  the  opinion 
of  Mr.  A.  H.  Ernst,  Spring  Garden,  Ohio,  who  says:  "In  clip 
ping  hedges,  if  the  sickle  is  to  be  used  with  one  hand,  the  handle 
may  be  about  six  inches  long ;  and,  if  both  hands,  it  should  be 
from  two  to  two  and  a  half  feet  long.  For  a  hedge  not  over  three 
and  a  half  feet  high,  one  hand  is  all  sufficient.  But  when  the 
hedge  is  higher  than  that,  both  hands  are  necessary.  We  have 
a  fine  hedge,  of  some  two  miles,  around  Spring  Garden  Cemetery, 
of  Osage  Orange,  six  feet  high,  for  trimming  which  this  instru 
ment  alone  is  used.  Two  men,  one  right-handed  and  the  other 
left-handed,  start  at  the  same  point,  on  opposite  sides,  and  with  a 
quick  stroke  upwards,  make  a  clean  sweep  of  all  the  straggling 
branches,  trimming  the  hedge  in  the  form  of  the  letter  A,  which 
is  decidedly  the  best  form  for  a  hedge,  as  it  gives  the  greatest  ex 
posure  to  light  and  air,  which  is  a  very  essential  point  to  the 
health  and  duration  of  a  hedge.  I  should  prefer  to  have  the 
borders  of  my  hedges  raised  somewhat  above  the  common  surface 
of  the  ground,  so  as  to  admit  a  freer  circulation  of  air  and  light 
to  the  lower  branches." 

THE  AXE. 

"  The  faithful  axe,  whose  burnished  blade 
Stood  gleaming  in  the  old  oak's  shade, 
In  quick  response  replied,  Who,  tell, 
Save  me,  the  mighty  forests  fell? 
Who  clave  the  gnarly  oaks  and  pines, 
The  thorn,  the  brambles,  and  the  vines  ?"— EDWARDS. 

362.  The  axe  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  implements  of  the 
farmer,  and,  when  made  of  a  correct  shape  and  put  in  good  order, 
when  hung  correctly  and  handled  expertly,  performs  wonders, 
even  when  he  who  handles  it  is  by  no  means  strong.  It  is  very 
poor  policy  to  attempt  to  chop  with  a  poor  axe,  because  a  laborer, 
in  a  very  short  time,  with  a  poor  axe,  will  lose  time  and  expend 
strength — to  no  profit — sufficient  to  purchase  a  good  axe.  Chop 
pers  often  feel  too  poor  to  purchase  a  new  axe,  and  will  peck, 
peck,  with  an  old  worn-out  tool,  year  after  year,  very  much  dis- 


THE  YOUNG  FAKMEB'S  MANUAL.  273 

satisfied  with  their  day's  work.  If  they  had  no  other  means  of 
obtaining  a  new  and  good  axe,  it  would  be  a  matter  of  economy 
"  to  work  out"  a  day  or  two,  and  earn  each  enough  to  get  a  good 
axe ;  and  then  with  half  the  time  and  strength  that  would  be  re 
quired  with  the  old  axe,  they  would  be  able  to  accomplish  enough 
more  with  a  good  axe  to  pay  for  it. 

363.  Figure   126  represents  an  axe  with  its  different  parts 

FIG.  126. 


A   CHOPPING   AXE   CORRECTLY  HUNG. 


lettered.  A  represents  the  heap  or  poll,  which  is  sometimes  made 
of  steel ;  B  the  edge,  0  the  steel,  D  the  outside  corner,  E  the 
inside  corner,  .Pthe  eye.  The  position  of  the  axe,  from  the  eye 
to  the  edge,  is  called  the  bit  or  blade  of  the  eye.  G  is  the  helve, 
H  is  the  hilt  of  the  helve.  The  dotted  lines  represent  the  angle  of 
the  axe  and  helve,  and  will  be  referred  to  under  the  head  of  hang 
ing  an  axe. 

THE    SHAPE    OF    THE    AXE. 
"A  neat,  symmetrical,  becoming  shape." 

364.  Nothing  adds  more  to  the  efficiency  of  an  axe,  as  a  tool, 
than  a  correct  shape  of  the  bit  or  blade.  Manufacturers  often 
give  a  shape  to  the  axe  which  defies  and  sets  at  naught  every 
correct  principle  in  mechanics.  Some  make  them  with  a  very 
small  poll — with  almost  no  poll  at  all — and  with  a  very  long 
blade,  and  very  wide  from  the  outside  corner  to  the  inside  corner, 
with  the  edge  about  twice  as  long  as  the  poll,  and  with  almost 
the  whole  weight  of  the  axe  on  one  side  of  the  eye — in  the  blade 
or  bit.  Some  make  them  with  a  very  heavy  poll  and  a  long  nar 
row  blade,  with  no  corners  to  the  blade,  but  almost  circular  on  the 


274  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

edge  like  an  old  axe  with  the  corners  ground  off.  It  cannot  be 
denied  that  an  axe  with  no  corners  will  enter  farther  into  wood, 
at  a  given  stroke,  than  one  that  has  corners ;  but  a  man  can  chop 
much  faster  with  an  axe  that  is  almost  straight  on  the  edge,  than 
with  one  that  is  very  round  on  the  edge.  The  reason  for  this  is, 
a  chopper  with  an  axe  that  is  very  rounding  on  the  edge  makes 
a  great  deal  of  mince  ;  but  with  an  axe  that  has  but  little  round 
ing  on  the  edge,  he  will  make  but  little  mince  or  fine  chips.  An 
axe  of  due  proportion  will  measure  about  five  inches  from  one 
corner  of  the  edge  to  the  other,  and  about  three  and  a  half  inches 
the  length  of  the  poll,  and  about  eight  inches  from  the  crown  of 
the  poll  to  the  edge  A.  B,  midway  between  each  corner.  An 
axe,  the  poll  of  which  is  about  two  and  a  half  inches  long,  the 
edge  six  inches  long — and  hundreds  are  made  thus — is  a  very 
poor  tool  to  work  with,  and  an  ill-shapen  thing. 

THE    WEIGHT    OF   THE    AXE 

365.  Is  a  consideration  in  regard  to  which  choppers  often  disa 
gree;  but  the  majority  of  them  will  probably  agree  in  what  fol 
lows.     If  a  chopper  is  naturally  very  slow  in  handling  an  axe, 
and  is  not  disposed  to  exert  much  strength,  he  should  have  an  axe 
which  weighs  from,  five  to  eight  Ibs.,  according  to  the  strength  of 
the  chopper.    If  a  chopper  strikes  very  quickly,  and  raises  his  axe 
very  quickly, — if  he  is  a  man  of  ordinary  strength,  he  should  have 
an  axe  weighing  about  four  Ibs.     A  chopper  will  cut  off  a  log 
quicker  with  a  heavy  axe  than  with  a  light  one  ;  but  when  he 
comes  to  handle  it  all  day,  he  will  find  he  will  be  able  to  chop 
quite  as  much,  and  with  less  fatigue,  with  a  four-  or  five-lb.  axe 
than  he  can  with  one  that  weighs  six  or  seven  Ibs.  or  more.     It 
is  better  to  exert  the  muscles  a  little  in  striking  with  an  axe,  than 
it  is  to  exert  all  the  strength  in  lifting  an  axe  which  is  heavy 
enough  to  cut  sufficiently  deep  at  a  stroke  by  its  own  weight. 

366.  Were  a  chopper  to  strike  twenty  blows  per  minute,  he 
would  strike  twelve  thousand  blows  in  ten  hours.     With  an  axe 
weighing  five  Ibs.,  in  that  time  he  would  raise  as  high  or  higher 
than  his  head,  an  equivalent  to  sixty  thousand  Ibs.,  or  thirty  tons, 


275 

— a  good  day's  work  aside  from  chopping.  Chopping  with  a  six 
pound  axe,  he  would  raise,  at  the  above  rate,  in  ten  hours,  thirty- 
six  tons,  of  2,000  Ibs.  per  ton.  For  trimming  the  limbs  of  trees, 
cutting  under-brush,  and  for  other  light  chopping,  an  axe  weigh 
ing  four  Ibs.  is  preferable  to  a  heavier  one. 

367.  Boys  should  always  have  light  axes  to  chop  with,  lest 
they  make  poor  choppers,  soon  tire  out,  and  imbibe   an   ever 
lasting  dread  of  and  disrelish  for  chopping. 

PUTTING  THE  AXE  IN  ORDER. 

368.  There  are  two  things  of  great  importance  to  be  kept  in 
view  when  one  is  putting  an  axe  in  order,  which  are,  to  have  it 
of  a  shape  which  will  cut  the  fastest,  and  chip  the  best.     It  may 
be  seen,  by  referring  to  EDGE  TOOLS,  (paragraph  543,)  that  the 
axe  cuts  with  a  crushing  stroke.     Now,  if  nothing  else  were  re 
quired  of  an  axe  but  to  cut,  it  would  be  wisdom  to  grind  it  as  thin 
as  possible,  consistent  with  strength.    But  since  an  axe  must  chip 
as  well  as  cut,  it  is  important  to  give  it  a  shape  which  will  not 
only  cut  fast,  but  which  will  chip  well.    An  axe  ground  very  thin 
near  the  edge,  will  cut  fast  and  deep  at  every  stroke,  but  will  not 
chip  well ;  and  a  very  thick  axe,  with  a  blunt  edge,  will  chip  well, 
but  will  not  cut  fast.     If  an  axe  is  ground  very  thin,  it  enters  the 
wood  so  far  at  a  blow  that  it  is  apt  to  stick,  especially  in  soft 
wood. 

369.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  give  a  correct  idea  of  the  prop 
er  shape  of  an  axe,  in  this  respect,  on  paper;    but  Fig.  127  will 
give  something  of  an  idea.     This  figure  represents  a  transverse 
section  of  an  axe,  at  about  two  inches  from  the  edge.     A  ridge 
should  be  formed  on  the  dotted  line  of  the  angle  of  the  axe,  (see 
Fig.  126,  A  B,)  which  should  disappear  towards  the  cutting  edge, 
and  towards  the  eye  of  the  axe.    The  object  of  this  ridge  is  to  split 
the  chip.     From  this  ridge  towards  each  corner,  it  should  be  ground 
of  a  true  taper,  with  a  little  swell. 

370.  "When  holding  an  axe  on  a  grindstone,  put  the  head  of 
it  in  the  gain  of  the  Clamp,  Fig.  128,  which  may  be  made  of  a 
piece  of  two-inch  plank,  about  eighteen  inches  long,  and  put  the 


276 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


opposite  end  of  the  clamp  against  the  abdomen  of  the  workman 
who  holds  the  axe.  Such  -a  little  instrument  will  be  found  of 
very  great  service.  In  grinding  up  a  new  axe,  make  a  gain  in  the 
end  of  a  rail  or  scantling,  and  sit  on  -it  when  grinding.  The  cut 
ting  edge  at  B  should  never  be  more  than  half  an  inch  beyond  a 


FIG.  127. 


FIG.  128. 


A  TRANSVERSE  SECTION  OF  THE 
BLADE  OR  BIT  OF  A  WELL-FORM 
ED  CHOPPING  AXE. 


A   CLAMP  FOR  HOLDING   AN  AIB 
WHILE   GRINDING   IT. 


line  drawn  from  the  outside  corner  D,  to  inside  corner  E.  (See 
Fig.  126.)  For  scoring  timber,  an  axe  must  be  a  little  circular 
on  the  edge  from  D  to  E.  If  this  edge  is  very  circular,  the 
timber  will  be  badly  hacked.  After  grinding,  whet  the  edge  with 
a  fine  gritted  oil  stone;  and  if  the  sides  of  the  -blade  could  be 
polished  on  a  polishing  wheel,  it  would  enter  the  wood  farther  at 
a  given  stroke.  (See  OIL  STONE,  paragraph  572.) 

THE    AXE    HELVE. 

371.  In  order  to  chop  well  and  easily,  a  man  must  have  a 
good  helve  ;  and  unless  a  helve  is  made  of  good  timber,  and  of  a 
good  shape,  it  will  be  an  awkward  tool  in  the  hands  of  a  good 
chopper.  A  helve,  in  order  to  be  a  good  one,  must  not  be  too 


THE  YOUXG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  277 

large,  nor  too  small,  at  the  hilt,  nor  midway  between  the  hilt 
and  the  end  that  holds  the  axe.  It  should  be  made  with  a  good 
hang — or,  as  some  call  it,  with  a  good  deal  of  crook — from  the 
hilt  to  the  other  end.  A  helve  should  always  be  made  so  that 
the  Jiang  will  be  in  the  direction  of  the  grain  of  the  wood  from 
the  bark  towards  the  heart.  If  a  helve  is  made  "slab  fashion," 
or  as  our  backwoodsmen  call  it,  "bastard  fashion,"  with  one 
sidt  of  the  helve  towards  the  heart,  and  one  side  towards  the 
bark,  it  will  soon  spring  so  as  to  be  a  worthless  thing  to  chop 
with.  If  the  hilt  be  too  large,  or  too  small,  or  of  an  improper 
shape,  it  will  surely  cramp  and  blister  the  hand.  It  should  not 
be  made  round,  but  of  an  oval  or  elliptical  shape.  Without  a 
good  hang  and  an  oval  shape,  it  will  be  impossible  to  strike  true. 
(See  HANG,  in  next  vol.)  Some  men,  who  know  nothing 
about  chopping,  contend  that  if  a  man  is  accustomed  to  chop 
with  a  straight  stick,  he  could  chop  as  well  as  he  could  with  a 
helve  having  a  good  hang.  But  no  good  chopper  will  ever  make 
such  an  assertion.  When  a  helve  is  round,  an  axe  may  turn 
half  way  round  in  the  hands,  and  not  be  perceived  by  the  chop 
per  ;  but  when  it  is  of  an  oval  shape,  and  has  a  good  hang  in 
chopping,  an  axe  will  adjust  itself;  and  a  little  deviation  will 
readily  be  perceived  by  the  accustomed  hand.  (See  Par.  331.) 
One  who  chops  much  with  a  straight  helve,  or  with  one  that  has 
a  hilt  too  large  or  too  small  for  his  hand,  is  very  liable  to  com 
plain  of  lame  hands  and  of  lame  wrists  ;  and  that  he  is  not  able 
to  strike  twice  in  one  place.  If  a  man  has  a  very  small  hand, 
his  axe  helve  should  be  correspondingly  small ;  and  vice  versa. 

372.  Helves  that  are  made  by  machinery,  when  they  are  made 
of  good  timber,  with  straight  grain,  and  the  right  way  of  the 
grain,  are  usually  superior  to  those  which  are  made  by  hand  ; 
unless  those  made  by  hand  are  made  by  one  who  understands 
the  business  extremely  well.  It  is  a  very  difficult  task  for  some 
good  mechanics  to  make  a  good  axe  helve  until  they  have  prac 
tised  by  making  a  number  of  helves  ;  and  some  never  can,  with 
ever  so  much  practice,  succeed  in  giving  a  helve  the  most  correct 
hang  and  shape  at  the  hilt,  and  at  other  parts, of  it.  But  if  the 


278  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

tyro  be  favored  with  a  little  ingenuity,  the  following  directions, 
with  a  little  practice,  will  enable  him  to  make  a  very  good  helve. 

HOW    TO    MAKE    AN    AXE    HELVE. 

373.  Fig.  129  represents  an  axe-helve  pattern  of  a  very  good 
shape.  From  a  to  b  is  two  feet  eight  inches.  This  is  too  long 
for  some  men.  If  a  pattern  cannot  be  obtained  from  a  helve 
having  a  good  shape,  a  pattern  can  be  made  in  a  few  minutes  of 
the  desired  shape,  out  of  a  piece  of  thin  board,  as  shown  by  the 

FIG.  129. 


AXK   HELVE   PATTERN. 

dotted  lines.  At  a  let  it  be  made  not  less  than  three  inches 
wide,  and  at  5  about  two  and  a  half  inches  wide.  At  c,  about 
six  inches  from  the  end,  near  a,  make  a  pencil  mark  for  the 
most  prominent  point.  At  D  make  another  mark,  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  distance  from  a  to  5.  At  E  make  another  mark, 
six  or  seven  inches  from  I.  Now,  with  a  pencil,  mark  out  the 
shape,  like  the  figure,  as  nearly  as  possible  ;  and  then  cut  it  out 
very  exact  and  true.  The  dotted  lines  at  a  will  show  how 
much  of  the  upper  corner  should  be  cut  away  in  order  to  give 
the  hilt  a  good  shape. 

374.  Now,  rive  out  a  piece  of  tough  hickory,  and  dress  it 
with  an  axe  or  circular  saw,  four  square,  and  as  thick  at  the 
large  end  as  the  hilt,  and  wide  enough  to  admit  of  marking  out 
a  helve  with  a  pencil  by  the  pattern.  Now,  with  the  draw 
ing-knife,  smoothing  plane,  spoke  shave,  and  rasp,  dress  it  down 
to  an  oval  shape.  This  oval  form  should  extend  entirely  through 
the  hilt.  Avoid  a  round  hilt ;  because  with  a  round  hilt  the  best 
choppers  cannot  keep  the  axe  in  the  correct  positiou,  with 
out  grasping  the  hilt  so  firmly  that  the  muscles  of  the  hand 
will  soon  be  cramped.  Avoid,  also,  making  the  edges  of  the 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  279 

helve  too  sharp ;  and  avoid  a  very  large  hilt.  Such  a  hilt 
is  sure  to  cramp  the  hand,  and  make  a  man's  wrist  lame, 
and  the  fingers  stiff.  Always  lay  the  pattern  on  the  stick, 
so  that  the  part  at  c  E  will  be  towards  the  lark,  and  the 
part  at  D  towards  the  heart  of  the  tree.  Then,  if  the  helve 
should  spring,  it  would  spring  with  the  curve,  which  will  make 
an  axe  hang  still  better ;  whereas,  should  it  spring  sideways,  it 
would  be  a  worthless  thing  to  chop  with.  (See  SPRINGING  OF 
TIMBER,  in  next  vol.)  Endeavor  to  make  a  hilt  that  will  work 
easily  in  the  hand,  and  not  one  so  short  and  sharply  curved  that 
the  third  and  the  little  fingers  hold  the  axe,  while  the  first  and 
second  fingers  do  nothing.  A  longish  hilt  is  most  desirable ; 
because  it  never  cramps  the  hand  in  chopping.  Fig.  126  is  an 
exact  representation  of  helves  made  by  the  author,  which  have 
been  pronounced  by  some  of  the  best  choppers  in  the  Empire 
State  to  be  exactly  right  in  every  particular. 

HANGING   THE    CHOPPING   AXE 

375.  Is  a  piece  of  labor  which  requires  no  little  skill  to  perform 
correctly ;    and  if  it  is  not  correctly  done  an  axe  will  not  work 
well.     Good  choppers  usually  know  when  an  axe  is  correctly 
hung ;   but  a  great  many  excellent  choppers  cannot  hang  an  axe 
correctly.     And  when  an  axe  hangs  wrong,  or  "  bad,"  as  chop 
pers  say,  it  is  impossible  to  chop  well. 

376.  The  RULE  for  hanging  an  axe  upon  the  most  approved 
mechanical  principles  is,  to  have  it  so  fastened  on  the  helve  that  the 
edge  will  range  exactly  in  the  direction  of  the  centre  of  the  hilt,  and 
that  the  hilt,  the  centre  of  the  eye,  and  the  centre  of  the  blade,  will  be 
at  right  angles.     By  consulting  Fig.  126,  it  will  be  seen  by  the 
dotted  lines,  showing  the  angle  of  the,  axe,  that  this  line  cuts  the 
hilt,  the  centre  of  the  eye,  and  the  centre  of  the  blade.     "When 
the  eye  of  an  axe  is  crooked,  or  not  in  range  with  the  edge,  which 
is  often  the  case  with  even  good  axes,  the  edge  may  be  made  to 
stand  in  range  with  the  hilt  of  the  helve,  by  wedging  the  axe  on 
one  side  of  the  centre  of  the  helve.     When  the  eye  is  true  we 
insert  a  wedge  in  the  centre  of  the  eye,  splitting  the  helve  in  the 

12* 


280  T:TE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

centre ;  but  when  the  eye  is  one-sided,  by  splitting  the  end  of 
the  helve  on  one  side  of  the  centre,  and  inserting  a  wedge  one 
side  of  the  centre  of  the  eye,  the  edge  may  be  adjusted  with  all 
desirable  precision.  If,  when  the  helve  is  driven  into  the  eye,  it 
should  not  touch  on  one  side,  and  the  edge  stand  correctly,  it  is 
best  not  to  split  the  end  of  the  helve  in  wedging,  but  to  wedge 
on  one  side,  with  timber  as  hard  as  the  helve.  Have  a  thin,  iron 
wedge  made  to  fasten  on  the  axe,  with  a  large  flat  head  that  will 
cover  the  eye  of  the  axe.  This  may  be  readily  taken  out  in  case 
of  a  broken  axe  or  helve,  when  a  wooden  wedge  could  not  be 
extracted. 

CHOPPING. 

"  The  sturdy  feller,  with  his  glittering  axe, 
Incessant  plies  the  well-directed  blows." — ANON. 

377.  Why  can  one  man  chop  so  much  faster  and  neater  than 
another?      Why  can  a  very  small  man,  possessing  but  little 
strength,  often  chop  twice  as  much  as  some  large,  strong,  Goliah- 
like  fellow  ?      The  reason  is  very  obvious :  it  requires  but  little 
strength  to  chop  well,  and  to  chop  fast,  when  a  chopper  handles 
his  axe  well  and  easily,  and  strikes  as  straight  as  may  be,  losing 
no  strokes.     But  when  a  chopper  handles  his  axe  awkwardly — 
be  he  ever  so  stout — he  is  not  likely  to  strike  very  straightly : 
and  if  he  does  not  strike  exactly  in  the  same  spot  at  every  blow, 
he  loses  his  strokes  ;  and  when  he  loses  Ins  strokes,  and  makes 
a  great  deal  of  mince,  or  fine  chips,  before  he  is  able  to  bring 
out  the  chips,  it  requires  many  more  strokes  to  start  the  chips 
than  when  there  is  but  little  or  no  mince  made.     A  good  chop 
per  makes  but  little  mince,  and  he  always  strikes  so  as  to  start  a 
chip  at  nearly  every  stroke.     The  first  thing,  then,  in  order  to 
be  a  good  chopper,  is,  to  learn 

TO    HANDLE    THE    AXE    CORRECTLY. 

378.  When  a  chopper  stands  on  a  log  which  he  designs  to 
cut  off  with  the  axe,  he  should  stand  erect,  straighten  his  back  at 
every  stroke,  and,  with  one  hand  holding  the  hilt  of  the   helvo, 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  281 

the  other  should  grasp  the  helve  eight  or  ten  inches  from  the 
axe ;  bring  the  axe  right  up  before  the  face,  and  thrust  it  up  into 
the  air  as  high  as  he  can  reach  easily,  letting  the  hand  that  held 
the  middle  of  the  helve  slip  down  against  the  other  hand  as  the 
axe  rises.  Now,  the  eye  of  the  chopper  should  be  fixed  on  the 
spot  where  he  wishes  to  strike.  Now  strike  straightly,  and 
always  look  to  the  place  where  the  axe  cuts,  looking  between  the 
arms,  and  not  on  one  .side  of  the  arms.  Let  the  arms  be  as 
limber  and  elastic  as  a  leathern  strap,  but  keep  the  hand  that 
holds  the  hilt  of  the  helve  firmly  grasped,  so  as  to  keep  the  axe 
in  just  such  a  position  as  it  is  in  when  it  comes  down. 

379.  Some  choppers,  in  lifting  their  axe,  give  it  a  side  swing, 
bringing  it  round  near  one  shoulder  ;  and  some  thrust  it  out  for 
ward  of  them,  and  raise  it  up  .before  them,  with  arms  as  stiff  as  a 
stake,  to  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees,  before  striking.     But 
such  are  very  awkward,  feminine  and  inefficient  ways  of  hand 
ling  an  axe. 

Another  consideration  of  great  importance  in  chopping  is, 

THE  SHAPE  OF  THE  KERF,  OR  CHIP. 

380.  Fig.  130  represents  a  log  cut  off  with  an  axe.     At  A  the 

kerf,  or  chip,  is  shaped  badly, 
and  at  B  it  has  a  good  shape. 
The  RULE,  among  good  chop 
pers,  for  the  length  of  the  out 
side  chip,  usually  is,  not  less  in 
length  than  the  diameter  of  the 
log.  Then,  as  we  chip  deeper 
into  the  log,  the  cut  should  be  more,  square  across  it,  so  that  the 
ends  that  have  been  cut  off  will  be  circular,  as  at  B.  If  a  log  be 
two  feet  in  diameter,  commence  a  chip,  to  take  a  log  half  off, 
two  feet  long.  The  tyro  may  then  trace  the  shape  of  the  kerf, 
with  his  axe,  on  the  bark,  until  he  can  form  a  good  kerf  ly  the 
eye.  In  cleaving  the  outside  chips,  let  three  or  four  inches  of  the. 
ends  be  cut  off  square,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  a  stroke  of  the 
axe  will  start  a  chip  the  end  of  which  is  square,  vfhen  severa} 


282  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

blows  would  have  but  little  effect  if  the  end  were  not  cut  off 
square.  He  who  would  be  a  good  chopper  must  learn  to  strike 
straight,  and  not  strike  too  quick,  lest  his  strength  fail,  nor  too  slow, 
lest  suitable  progress  be  not  made,  and  he  must  learn  to  shape 
his  kerfs  like  B  in  the  figure. 

FELLING   TREES    WITH    AN   AXE. 

"  Loud  sounds  the  axe,  redoubling  strokes  on  strokes  ; 
On  all  sides  round  the  forest  hurls  her  oaks 
Headlong.    Deep-echoing  groan  the  thickets  brown  ; 
Then  rustling,  crackling,  crashing,  thunder  down." 

381.  The  first  and  most  important  consideration,   when   we 
have  concluded  to  fell  a  tree,  is,  to  decide  which  way  it  will  fall 
most  advantageously.     When  a  tree  stands  perpendicularly,  it 
may  be  felled  just  which  way  we   choose.      If,  for  instance,  we 
wish  to  fell  a  tree  to  the  north,  let  the  north  side  be  cut  a  little 
more  than  half  off,  and  three  or  four  inches  lower  than  the  south 
side,  and  it  will  surely  fall  towards  the  north,  unless  the  wind  is 
contrary.     A  tree  that  stands  perpendicularly  will  always  fall  in 
the  direction  which  the   chips  fly  when  it  is  being  cut  down.     A 
tree  will  fall  usually  on  that  side  of  the  stump  which  is  cut  the 
lowest.     "When  a  tree  is  large  and  valuable  for  timber,  if  a  chop 
per  does  not  understand  felling  trees,  he  is  very  liable  oftentimes 
to  damage  a  tree  very  much,  and  for  some  purposes  spoil  it  en 
tirely.     Large  trees,  especially  very  tough  timber,  are  very  apt 
to  split,  shiver  and  check  at  the  butt  when  falling,  if  they  are  not 
cut  correctly. 

382.  We  have  often  seen  valuable  trees  split  at  the  butt  six 
or  eight  feet  when  falling ;  and  sometimes  splinters  six  or  eight 
feet  long  are  drawn  out  of  the  butt  of  the  tree,  and  stand   erect 
on  the  stump,  damaging  a  tree  very  much. 

383.  A  tree  for  timber  should  be  cut  as  low  as  possible,  as  one 
foot  in  length  of  the  butt  of  a  tree  is  worth,  in  many  instances, 
four  times  the  cost  of  cutting  down  the  tree  ;  and  each  side  should 
be  cut  square  across,  and  not  diagonally,  with  one  side  slanting 
onc>  way,  and  the  other  side  in  an  opposite  direction.     It  is  just 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  283 

as  easy,  and  far  better  for  many  reasons,  to  cut  trees  low  than  to 
cut  them  high.  Let  a  chopper  keep  the  hand  that  holds  the  hilt  of 
the  axehelve  well  down,  (the  length  of  the  arm,)  and  bend  his  back 
a  little — it  will  not  injure  him — and  he  will  soon  get  accustomed 
to  cutting  trees  low  and  square  across.  In  order  to  save  timber, 
the  kerf  should  be  more  straight  inward  than  it  is  in  chopping  off 
a  log.  It  will  require  a  little  more  time  and  strength  to  cut  down 
a  tree  with  a  short  chip ;  but,  where  timber  is  valuable,  the 
amount  saved  by  a  short  kerf  more  than  compensates  for  the 
extra  time  in  cutting  down.  When  one  is  cutting  down  a  large 
tree,  and  there  is  any  apprehensions  of  its  splitting  at  the  butt, 
and  the  tree  is  cut  off  within  eight  or  ten  inches,  the  heart  of  the 
tree  should  all  be  cut  off  first,  letting  it  stand  as  long  as  it  will 
on  a  portion  of  the  sap  part  of  the  tree. 

384.  My  practice,  in  cutting  down  a  valuable  tree,  is,  to  set 
two  long  braces  against  it,  one  on  each  side,  in   the  direction 
where  we  intend  to  fell  it,  and  brace  it  firmly  until  the  tree  can 
be  cut  entirely  off.     Then  knock  away  one  of  the  braces,  and  the 
tree  may  be  made  to  go  whichever  way  we  choose  to  have  it. 

385.  When  trees  lean,  they  should  never  be   cut  to  fall  in  the 
direction  they  lean,  because  they  will  surely  split  or  damage  in 
some  way. 

386.  Suppose,  for  instance,  a  tree  stands  near  a  precipice,  and 
leans  a  little  towards  it,  it  may  be  made  to  fall  in  any  direction 
we  desire,  by  attaching  a  rope  and  tackles  to  it  and  fastening  to 
another  tree,  or  to  a  post  set  firmly  in  the  ground,  and  then  hitch 
ing  a  team  to  the  slack  rope,  when  the  tree  is  nearly  ready  to 
fall.     When  a  valuable  tree  is  to  be  cut,  when  standing  on  an 
eminence,  never  allow  it  to  fall  down  hill,  but  always  up  hill,  or 
along  the  slope. 

SAWING   DOWN    TREES. 

387.  Sometimes    trees  may  be  sawed   down  to   good  advan 
tage.     Before  using  a  saw,  however,  for  sawing  down  a  tree, 
a  kerf  a  few  inches  deep  should  be  cut  with  the  axe,  so  as  to 


284  THE  YOUNG  FAKMER's  MANUAL. 

steady  the  saw.  Let  a  tree  be  sawed  about  half  off  on  one  side, 
in  the  direction  it  is  designed  to  fall  the  tree  ;  and  then  saw  on 
the  opposite  side,  and  drive  wedges  into  the  kerf  as  fast  as  the 
saw  goes  in,  to  keep  the  tree  from  swaying  and  pinching  the 
saw,  and  from  falling  in  a  wrong  direction.  If  a  tree  be  large, 
three  wedges  should  be  driven  in  ;  and  the  saw  should  be  worked 
straight  across  the  tree,  and  not  all  round  it,  lest  it  fall  to  one 
side  and  break  the  saw. 

388.  Let  the  tyro  remember,  before  a  large  tree  is  felled,  to 
take  the  team  and  haul  three  or  four  small  logs  or  sticks  of  tim 
ber,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  long,  for  the  tree  to  fall  on.  Never 
trust  to  a  few  rails,  or  a  little  pole  or  two  ;  for  a  heavy  tree  will 
surely  crush  or  bury  such  trash  in  the  ground ;  and  then,  before 
the  tree  can  be  sawed  or  worked  up,  there  must  be  tugging  and 
prying,  and  time  enough  spent  very  disadvantageously,  to  have 
got  the  team  and  hauled  a  score  of  logs  for  a  tree  to  fall  on. 
Let  trees  be  kept  up  well  from  the  ground ;  because  it  is  far 
easier  to  let  logs  down  than  it  is  to  raise  them  a  few  inches  after 
a  tree  has  fallen.  When  a  chain  cannot  be  put  under  a  log  to 
roll  it  over,  hitch  the  grapple-hook  to  it.  (See  Fig.  72. — See 
How  TO  HANDLE  A  CROSS-CUT  SAW,  Par.  648.) 


CHAPTER  IY. 

FENCE    LAWS. 

389.  OUR  civil  law  in  relation  to  fences,  which  appears  to  be 
founded  on  principles  of  strictest  equity,  provides,  that  where  land 
is  enclosed,  and  lies  contiguous,  and  possessed  by  two  different 
owners,  each  one  must  build  and  maintain  a  good  lawful  fence  on 
one  half  the  distance   of   the  entire  line   between  their   land. 
According  to  law,  A  may  not  build  his  half  of  the  line  fence 
exactly  on  the  line  /  neither  may  B.     But  each  must  erect  his 
fence  on  his  own  land,  as  near  to  the  line  as  he  desires.     But 
neighbors  usually  erect  their  line  fences  exactly  on  the  line  ;  while 
waspish  owners  place  them  as  they  choose. 

390.  If  A  refuses  to  build  or  to  maintain  one  equal  half  of  a 
line  fence  between  his  land  and  the  land  owned  by  B,  by  giving 
A  thirty  days'  legal  notice  that  he  must  build  or  repair  his  line 
fence,  and  A  neglects  so  to  do,  B  may  build  or  repair  such  fence, 
and  collect  of  A  the  expense  of  building  the  same  as  for  any  other 
indebtedness. 

391.  If  A  has  land  not  enclosed,  or  "open  to  the  commons," 
which  lies  contiguous  to  the  land  of  B,  if  B  desires  to  have  his 
land  enclosed,  he  must  build  all  the  fence  between  them.     But 
after  B  has  enclosed  his  land,  if  A  should  then  enclose  his,  he 
cannot  hold  one  half  of  the  line  fence.     He  must  allow  B  to 
remove  one-half  of  the  fence ;  and  he  (A)  must  build  a  fence  in 
the  room  of  it ;  or  he  may  purchase  one-half  of  it.     If  he  refuses 
to  do  either,  B,  the  owner  of  the  fence,  may  prosecute  A  and 
recover  pay  for  half  of  the  line  fence. 

392.  B   may  not,  in  a  fit  of  resentment  or  frenzy,  remove  his 

(285) 


286  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

division  fence,  and  throw  open  his  own  fields  to  the  commons 
with  impunity,  unless  he  give  A  ten  days'  notice  of  his  inten 
tion  to  throw  open  his  fields  to  the  commons,  between  Novem 
ber  and  April.  During  the  time  from  April  to  November,  if  a 
line  fence  is  removed  by  A,  and  B  is  made  to  sustain  any  loss 
by  such  removal,  A  is  responsible  for  the  damage. 

WHAT    IS   A    LAWFUL    FENCE  ? 

393.  There   are   three  very  important   considerations  which 
constitute  a  lawful  fence :  viz.,  height,  strength  or  substantiability, 
and  tightness.     When  a  fence  is  four  feet  six  inches  high,  and 
made  according  to  the  various  styles  of  fence  laid  down  in  Chap 
ter  II,  and  built  of  good  materials,  our  civil  law  would  hold  the 
proprietor  of  any  animals  that  would  get  over  it  or  through  it, 
accountable  for  any  damage  which  they  might  do.     A  fence  that 
is  three  feet  six  inches  high,  might  be,  under  certain  circumstances, 
very  lawful.     Sheep  and  swine  that  would  get  over  or  through, 
by  demolishing  a  substantial  fence  three  feet  six  inches  high, 
would  be  considered  as  unruly  animals  /    and  their  proprietor 
would  be  held  accountable  for  any  damage  done  by  them. 

394.  I  have  failed  to  bring  out  in  the  chapter  on  fences,  uncle 
Will's  lawful  fence,  which  he  testified  in  court  was  "  a  lawful, 
buncombe  fence  :"   "it  was  horse  high — bull  strong — and  pig  tight" 


CHAPTER  V. 

UNDEEDRAINING. 

"  Each  bog  and  marsh  industriously  drain, 

Nor  let  vile  ponds  deface  the  beauteous  plain." — ANON. 

395.  Notwithstanding  there  has  been  so  much  written  on  the 
subject  of  underdraining  with  tile,  stone,  and  wood,  writers  on 
this  subject  have  failed  to  bring  out,  with  their  suggestions  and 
directions  for  draining,  many  things  which  I  consider  of  very 
great  importance,  and  which  all  good  practical  ditchers  consider 
of  greater  importance  than  almost  any  other  part  of  draining. 
There  have  been  volumes  written  on  draining  which  appear  very 
plausible  while  reading  them,  to  those  who  have  had  but  little 
experience  in  thorough  draining,  but  which  in  reality,  instead  of 
imparting  the  desired  information  to  the  young  farmer,  mislead 
him.  It  is  attended  with  no  embarrassments  to  pen  a  good  chap 
ter  on  draining,  and  to  give  diagrams  of  ditches,  and  to  direct 
how  deep  they  should  be  cut,  and  with  what  materials  they 
should  be  filled.  But  let  a  beginner  take  the  tools,  and  attempt 
to  follow  up  the  directions  which  have  been  laid  down  by  writers 
on  draining ;  and  if  he  does  not  meet  with  some  almost  insuper 
able  embarrassments,  he  will  be  an  exception  to  the  general  rule. 
Making  a  long  drain  in  a  manner  to  subserve  the  best  purpose, 
is  a  job  which  is  not  to  be  performed  every  year ;  but  it  should 
be  done  so  that  it  will  work  well  for  a  life-time.  A  long  drain 
may  be  made  in  the  best  manner  throughout  its  entire  length, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  inches  near  the  outlet,  which  will 
render  all  that  lies  above  it  nearly  or  quite  worthless.  Drains 
are  often  rendered  worthless  by  having  been  improperly  dug,  or 
by  having  been  filled  with  poor  materials,  or  by  the  improper 

(287) 


288  THE  TOTING  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

arrangement  and  disposition  of  good  materials.  If  a  drain  is 
made  of  good  materials,  and  those  materials  are  properly  dis 
posed  of,  we  may  safely  calculate  that  it  will  work  well  for  ages 
to  come,  without  any  repairing. 

396.  The  first  consideration  in  draining  wet  land  is,  to  ascer 
tain  with  certainty  from   whence  the  water  which  renders  a  soil 
too  wet  comes.     Land  is  often  made  too  wet  for  cultivation  by 
the  superabundant  water  coming  out  of  the  earth,  or  by  its  being 
retained  by  a  retentive  subsoil.     Where  a  very  thin  super  soil 
lies  on  a  very  retentive  subsoil,  water  will  often  collect  in  ponds 
in  low  places  ;   and  so  long  a  time  will  be  required  before  it  will 
disappear,  that  a  crop  would  be  about  destroyed.     In  this  case, 
if  the  young  farmer  desires  to  drain  only  such  low,  wet  places,  a 
good  drain  may  be  run  directly  through  them.     But  if  his  aim  is 
to  drain  the  entire  field  in  the  most  thorough  manner,  drains  paral 
lel  to  each  other,  about  two  rods  apart,  should  be  made  across 
the  field,  up  and  down  the  slope,  if  the  surface  of  the  field  is  in 
clined,  all  of  them  intersecting  with  one  large  drain.   .  Some 
times  the  most  proper  place  for  the  main  drain  will  be  across  the 
middle  of  a  field.     But  it  is  a  minor  consideration,  where  the 
water  is  turned,  if  a  drain  is  properly  made,  and  has  a  good  out 
let.     When  a  low  place  is  rendered  very  wet  by  water  arising 
from  springs,  a  drain  entirely  around  it,  between  the  wet  ground 
and  the  dry  ground,  will  cut  off  the  source  of  the  water ;   and 
if  the  bottom  of  the  drain  is  lower  than  the  lowest  place  in  the 
pond-hole,  it  will  be  well  drained ;    otherwise,  a  drain  should  be 
cut  through  the  lowest  place,  and  then  around  the  outside  of  it. 

397.  When  the  surface  of  a  field  that  lies  sloping  is  too  wet 
in  places  over  the   entire  field,  the  most  approved  manner  of 
draining  it  is,  to  cut  the  ditches  up  and  down  the  slope,  from  thirty 
to  forty  feet  apart.     Then,  if  a  spring  of  water  should  happen  to 
be  near  the  middle  of  two  drains,  which  the  main  drains  did  not 
seem  to  affect,  a  branch  drain  should  be  made,  diagonally,  above 
the  wet  ground,  two-thirds  of  the  distance  across  the  space  be 
tween   two  drains.     In  cutting  off   the   water  from   springs,  it 
should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  most  proper  place  for  a 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  289 

drain  is — in  order  to  be  most  effectual  above  the  wet  ground — be 
tween  the  wet  ground  and  the  dry.  The  slope  of  the  field  must 
determine  how  far  above  the  wet  ground  the  drain  should  be 
made.  If  the  surface  of  the  ground  slope  about  six  inches  in  a 
rod,  the  drain  should  be  made  not  less  than  forty  or  fifty  feet 
above  the  wet  ground.  The  idea  is,  to  have  the  diagonal  drain 
far  enough  above  the  wet  ground  to  cut  off  the  veins  of  water 
which  render  the  ground  wet,  so  that  they  will  be  near  the  bottom 
of  the  drain. 

398.  There  are  veins  of  water  all  through  the  earth  in  most 
localities ;  and  if  a  drain  intersects  any  of  these  veins,  the  water 
flowing  from  them  will  find  its  way  to  the  bottom  of  the  drain, 
even  if  the  drain  should  be  filled  with  clay,  well  rammed  in.     But 
if  the  drain  is  not  deep  enough  to  reach  a  vein,  the  water  in  it 
will  flow  on,  and  come  out  at  the  surface,  as  it  always  has  done, 
and  the  drain  will  be  of  little  benefit.     Sloping  fields,  which  lie 
below  large  bodies  of  standing  wood,  or  below  large  tracts  of 
swamps  or  wet  land,  are  very  liable  to  be  so  wet  as  to  need 
thorough  draining ;  whereas,  if  the  woods  above  them  were  re 
moved,   or  the  wet  ground  alluded  to  were  well  drained,  those 
sloping  fields  would  be  sufficiently  dry,  in  some  instances,  without 
drains.     In  such  instances  the  water  from  above  may,  many  times, 
be  cut  off  by  running  a  deep  drain  along  the  upper  side  of  the 
field,  to  receive  the  water  as  it  finds  its  way  from  the  up  land,  and 
spreads  over  the  fields  below.     One  of  the  fields  on  my  present 
farm  slopes  to  the  west  about  six  inches  per  rod.     About  one- 
fourth  of  a  mile  above  it  was  a  tract  of  wet,  swampy  land,  which 
was  supposed  to  be  the  source  of  the  numerous  veins  of  water 
which  out-cropped  in  this  sloping  field.      The  sloping  field  has 
been  drained ;    and  before  the  swamp   above  was  drained,   the 
drains  in  that  sloping  field  emitted  an  abundance  of  good  water, 
as  long  as  there  was  water  in  the  swamp.     But  now  that  the 
swamp  has  been  drained,  the  water  in  those  drains  in  the  sloping 
field  fails  early  in  the  season,  showing  very  conclusively  that  the 
source  of  the  water  has  failed. 

399.  Sometimes  mill-races  or  canals  are  cut  along  hills,  and  the 


290  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

water  from  them  percolates  through  the  bank,  rendering  a  large 
tract  of  the  land  below  the  water  very  wet  during  the  whole 
growing  season.  Now,  if  a  deep  drain  is  made  along  the  race  or 
canal,  it  will  cut  off  the  water  that  would  render  the  soil  too  wet 
for  cultivation.  If,  after  one  drain  has  been  made  for  such  a  pur 
pose,  some  of  the  water  passes  under  the  first  drain,  and  renders 
the  soil  wet  several  rods  below  it,  another  drain  nearly  parallel 
with  the  first  will  effectually  cut  off  all  that  would  otherwise  pass 
on  and  render  the  soil  wet. 

400.  The  young  farmer  need  have  no  apprehension  that  he  may 
cut  a  drain  in  some  places  where  it  will  injure  the  soil  by  draining 
it  too  much.     There  is  but  little  danger  of  draining  a  field  so  much 
as  to  injure  it.     Most  soils  operate  like  a  sponge  in  retaining 
water.     If  deep  drains  were  made  at  a  distance  of  every  ten  feet 
across  our  driest  fields,  they  would  retain  all  the  water,  as  it  fell 
in  rain,  that  is  necessary  to  sustain  healthy  vegetation ;  and  they 
would  be  benefited  rather  than  injured  by  such  a  system  of  thor 
ough  draining.      I  pen  these   suggestions  to  show  that   if  the 
young  farmer  should  cut  a  drain  in  one  place,  and  it  should  fail  to 
drain  the  soil  thoroughly  on  both  sides  of  it,  he  need  not  fear  to 
cut  another  drain,  even  within  a  few  feet  of  the  first  one.     Now 
that  the  most  proper  place  is  chosen  for  drains,  and  the  stakes 
stuck  for  it,  the  next  consideration  which  is  of  great  importance  is, 

THE    MANNER    OF    CUTTING    DRAINS. 

401.  The  young  farmer  will,  very  frequently,  be  so  fortunate 
as  to  have  in  his  employ  some  piece  of  stupid  intelligence  who 
professes  to  know  more  about  thorough  draining  than  all  the 
world  besides,  and  who  will  insist  that  a  drain  must  be  cut  here 
or  there,  and  that  a  given  depth,  which  he  may  mention,  is  infi 
nitely  better  than  any  other  depth ;  and  that  he  can  excel  any 
other  man  in  laying  out,  cutting,  and  stoning  or  tiling  a  drain. 
But  the  truth  is,  too  frequently,  with   such  knowing  ones,  that 
they,  in  reality,  know  about  as  much  as  juvenile  school -boys. 
There  can  be  no  impropriety  in  giving  such  knowing  ones  a  hear 
ing  ;  but  the  beginner  should  consult  some  farmers  who  have  had 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  291 

no  little  experience  in  underdraining,  and  read  attentively  all  that 
has  been  written  on  the  subject,  and  then  bring  all  the  common 
sense  that  is  in  his  possession  to  bear  on  the  subject. 

402.  It  is  a  consideration  of  very  little  consequence  how  rough 
and  uneven  the  sides  of  a  drain  are,  providing  the  bottom  is  made 
true.  Therefore,  when  a  drain  is  to  be  cut  without  the  aid  of  a 
regular  Ditching  Machine,  in  order  to  facilitate  and  economize 
the  expense  of  cutting  it,  if  the  soil  is  in  sod,  plow  a  furrow 
where  the  drain  is  to  be  made,  about  six  inches  deep,  and 
then  cut  another  furrow  about  six  inches  wide,  very  straight, 
and  throw  it  beyond  the  first  furrow,  either  with  the  plow 
or  with  manure  hooks.  Now  drive  back  to  the  other  end, 
and  plow  the  subsoil  as  deep  as  is  convenient,  by  going  twice 
in  the  same  place.  Now  shovel  out  the  loose  dirt,  and  plow 
again.  By  hitching  the  team  two  or  three  feet  further  from  the 
plow,  with  a  chain,  than  they  are  hitched  for  ordinary  plowing,  a 
ditch  can  be  plowed  two  feet  deep  with  a  common  plow.  A 
strong  double  team  and  Michigan  Sod  Plow  is  much  better  than 
a  single  team.  After  the  dirt  has  been  shovelled  out,  if  the  drain 
is  to  be  a  small  one,  have  a  very  long  yoke  for  oxen,  or  long 
whippletree  or  evener  for  horses,  and  loosen  up  the  dirt  with  a 

FIG.  13  Of 


MILTON  ALDEN'S  DITCHING  PLOW,  AUBURN,  N.  y. 

Sub-Soil  Plow,  or  with  a  Ditching  Plow,  shown  at  Fig.  130|, 
which  is  a  most  efficient  and  superior  tool,  and  can  be  obtained 
of  the  inventor,  Milton  Alden,  Auburn,  N.  Y.*  When  the  ditch 

*  Since  this  chapter  on  Draining  was  written,  M.  Alden,  Auburn,  N.  Y. ,  has  made  a 
great  improvement  in  ditching  plows.  His  improved  plow  is  made  with  two  standards  and 
two  points.  One  standard  is  bolted  to  one  side  of  the  beam,  as  in  the  Fig.  of  the  single 
standard  plow  on  this  page,  and  the  other  standard  is  bolted  to  a  block,  which  block  is 


292  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAU 

is  sufficiently  wide  for  a  horse  to  walk  in,  let  one  or  two  be  hitched 
before  it,  ad  tandem,  or  one  before  the  other.  The  bottom  of  a 
ditch  is  a  very  difficult  place  for  a  horse  to  walk  in ;  consequently 
a  man  should  steady  him,  walking  by  his  side,  with  one  hand 
hold  of  the  back-band  to  keep  him  balanced, — or  in  a  narrow 
ditch  a  horse  will  lose  his  balance  so  often,  by  hitting  his  legs  and 
feet  against  the  sides  of  the  ditch,  that  he  will  fall  over  sideways 
so  frequently,  he  will  become  afraid  to  move.  A  horse  cannot 
walk  in  a  channel  which  is  barely  wide  enough  for  a  man  to 
walk  in. 


GRADING   THE    BOTTOM    OP   A   DITCH. 

403.  Any  one  can  work  at  ditching  until  he  comes  to  the  bottom; 
but  not  one  ditcher  in  fifty,  that  I  have  ever  seen,  knows  how  to 
grade  the  bottom  correctly,  or  dig  it  across  the  bottom  in  the 
most  correct  form.  The  bottom  of  a  ditch,  from  the  outlet  to  the 
head,  should  be  of  a  straight  uniform  grade  all  the  way.  The 
bottom  should  not  be  level  for  a  few  rods,  and  then  ascend  a  few 
rods,  and  then  be  of  a  water  level  for  a  number  of  rods  farther, 
and  then  ascend,  and  so  on  to  the  head  of  it,  as  they  are  usually 
dug.  The  idea  is,  to  have  the  bottom  of  such  an  inclination  that 
water  will  flow  at  the  same  velocity  through  every  part  of  the 


bolted  to  one  side  of  the  beam  of  the  plow.  The  arrangement  is  such,  that  the  plow  will 
cut  a  ditch  six,  eight,  ten,  or  twelve  inches  wide.  Instead  of  being  drawn  by  a  chain  or 
clevis  attached  to  the  end  of  the  beam,  it  is  drawn  by  a  tongue,  the  end  of  which  is 
fastened  to  the  upper  side  of  the  beam,  near  the  middle  of  it,  and  plays  up  and  down  in  a 
tongue  guide,  which  is  bolted  to  the  end  of  the  beam.  The  handles  are  adjustable,  to 
enable  the  man  who  holds  it  to  walk  nearly  erect,  even  when  the  plow  is  in  a  ditch  two 
feet  deep. 

The  advantages  of  this  plow  over  others  are,  it  will  run  more  steadily  with  a  tongue 
than  without  a  tongue.  With  two  standards  and  two  points,  a  ditch  is  easily  kept  of  a 
uniform  width,  without  any  difficulty  ;  and  with  two  points  a  vast  amount  of  labor  in 
dressing  off  the  sides  of  a  ditch  is  saved  ;  and  the  corners  of  the  bottom  are  dug  out  much 
better  than  they  can  be  with  an  ordinary  plow  ;  and  by  having  the  team  hitched  to  a 
tongue,  the  plowman  can  prevent  the  plow  from  running  too  deep  in  soft  places  ;  and  he 
will  be  able  to  lift  it  from  a  ditch  much  easier  than  he  can  without  a  tongue.  Every  part 
is  made  strong  and  durable  ;  and  the  plow  is  a  valuable  improvement.  It  will  work  well 
where  any  other  ditching  plow  will  work,  and  will  always  do  better  work  than  one  having 
but  one  standard. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


293 


drain.  In  order  to  do  this  correctly,  a  ditcher  must  have  a  me 
chanical  eye — an  eye  that  can,  at  a  glance,  detect  a  depression  or 
an  elevation  at  any  point  in  the  bottom  of  a  ditch.  If  a  ditch  is 
cut  where  there  is  but  little  descent  or  fall,  and  the  bottom  is  not 
as  straight  as  a  mathematical  line,  but  is  sunk  an  inch  too  deep 
here,  and  a  little  farther  on  two  inches  deeper  than  the  line  of  a 
true  grade,  water  will  not  run  out  freely ;  but  the  current  will  be 
so  slow  in  these  level  places  that  in  a  few  years  the  calibre  of 
small  tile  will  be  completely  filled  up  with  sediment.  But  if 
there  is  a  little  inclination  all  the  way,  and  the  inclination  is  of  a 
true  grade,  there  will  be  no  chance  for  sediment  to  lodge  and  to 
collect.  "Whether  a  ditch  is  to  be  filled  with  tile,  stone,  or  wood, 
the  bottom  should  be  of  a  true  grade.  Some  men  may  dig  ditches 
all  their  lives,  and  they  cannot  grade  the  bottom  of  a  ditch  just  as 
it  should  be,  in  a  difficult  place.  It  is  more  important  to  have  the 
bottom  of  a  ditch  very  true,  where  very  small  tile  is  to  be  laid, 
than  it  is  where  large  tile  is  to  be  used. 

404.  The  accompanying  Fig.,  131,  will  give  the  young  farmer 

FIG.  131. 


CORRECT  MANNER  OF  GRADING  THE  BOTTOM   OF  A   DITCH. 

a  more  correct  idea  of  the  proper  manner  of  grading  the  bot 
tom  of  a  ditch,  a  a  represents  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The 
line  b  &,  nearly  parallel  with  the  surface,  shows  the  common  mode 
of  grading  the  bottom  of  a  ditch,  up  a  slope.  The  straight  line 
c  c  represents  the  most  approved  manner  of  grading  the  bottom  of 
a  ditch.  A.  ditcher  who  possesses  little  or  no  mechanical  skill, 
will  be  puzzled  some  to  grade  the  bottom  just  as  it  should  be  ; 
but  if  he  cannot  make  calculations  about  at  what  point  to  com- 


294  THK  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

mence  digging  a  little  deeper,  and  about  how  deep  he  must  sink 
the  bottom  at  the  highest  point  on  the  surface,  and  about  how 
far  he  must  dig  before  he  runs  out,  he  had  better  resort  to  stakes. 
Stick  a  stake  at  the  outlet  and  one  at  the  head  of  the  ditch  after 
it  has  been  dug,  like  the  line  b  b,  allowing  them  to  be  say  four 
feet  high.  Now  at  the  highest  places,  E  E,  set  up  stakes  four 
feet  high,  and  then  look  over  the  tops  of  them  ;  and  dig  a  hole  in 
the  bottom  of  the  ditch  at  E  E,  until  the  tops  of  the  stakes  at 
E  E  will  be  in  a  line  with  those  at  the  outlet  and  head  of  the 
ditch.  The  ditcher  should  bring  his  head  down  in  the  ditch  as 
near  the  bottom  as  is  convenient,  when  he  will  be  able  to  discover 
any  depression  or  elevation  in  the  bottom,  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
distinguish. 

405.  "When  a  ditch  is  to  be  filled  with  stone,  if  there  is  to  be  a 
throat  made  in  the  bottom,  the  young  farmer  should  make  calcu 
lations  about  how  large  a  throat  will  be  necessary,  and  about  how 
large  will  be  the  average  size  of  the  side  stones.     In  this  case  the 
corners  of  the  ditch  should  be  well  dressed  out,  and  the  middle 
dug  about  an  inch  the  lowest,  as  shown  by  Fig.  133.      (See 
Par.  416.)     The  object  of  having  the  middle  of  the  ditch  the 
lowest  is,  to  keep  the  water  from  forming  a  channel  between  the 
side-stones  and  the  bank;  which  would  be  liable  to  displace  the 
stone,  and  thus  form  an  obstruction  in  the   drain.      When  the 
corners  are  not  well  dug  out  in  the  bottom  of  a  ditch,  it  is  much 
more  difficult  to  stone  it  in  a  complete  manner.      There  is  no 
necessity  for  digging  out  the  corners  of  the  bottom  of  a  ditch  for 
tile,  unless  tile  of  the  largest  size  is  to   be  used,  or  two  rows  of 
tile,  as  shown  by  Fig.  132,  in  which  case  the  bottom  should  be 
hollowed  out,  as  shown  in  the  figure. 

DEPTH    AND    SIZE    OF    DRAINS. 

406.  It  is  totally  impracticable  for  any  individual  to  tell  where 
a  drain  should  be  cut,  or  how  deep  or  how  wide  drains  should  be 
made,  without  going  on  the  ground  during  a  wet,  and  sometimes 
a  dry  part  of  the  season,  and  examining  the  sources  of  the  surplus 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  295 

water  and  the  inclination  of  the  ground  where  a  drain  is  thought 
to  be  needed.  The  young  farmer  should  never  be  satisfied  with 
a  drain  that  is  not  thirty  inches  deep ;  and  the  instances  are  very 
rare  where  it  would  not  be  better  to  cut  it  thirty  inches  than  less 
than  that  depth.  In  some  places  it  may  be  allowable,  and  drain 
the  soil  well,  to  put  small  tile  in  a  ditch  only  two  feet  deep. 
But  for  large  tile,  and  particularly  for  stone,  a  ditch  should  never 
be  less  than  thirty  inches  deep.  Drains  that  are  thirty  inches 
deep  will  be  just  as  effectual  in  drying  some  fields  as  if  they  were 
three  or  four  feet  deep.  On  the  contrary,  drains  only  thirty  inches 
deep  in  some  fields  would  not  be  half  as  effectual  in  draining  the 
land  as  they  would  if  they  were  forty  or  fifty  inches  in  depth.  In 
some  places  it  will  be  necessary  to  sink  the  ditches  four  feet  deep 
in  order  to  "get  the  water,"  or  to  reach  the  veins.  But  when 
the  water  veins  are  reached  at  the  depth  of  thirty  inches,  it  will 
be  incurring  a  bill  of  useless  expense  to  sink  the  ditches  deeper 
than  that  depth.  It  is  no  detriment  nor  disadvantage  to  land  to 
have  the  drains  four  feet  deep ;  because  water  will  percolate  into 
a  deep  drain  about  as  soon  as  it  will  into  a  shallow  drain  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  inches  in  depth.  When  land  is  drained  to  cut 
off  the  water  arising  from  springs,  as  a  general  rule  the  drains 
need  to  be  deeper  than  they  do  where  the  surplus  water  does  not 
arise  from  springs. 

407.  When  a  drain  is  to  receive  a  single  row  of  tile,  if  the 
ditch  is  cut  barely  wide  enough  to  admit  them  it  will  be  just  as 
well  as  if  it  were  a  foot  wide.  When  the  ditches  are  to  be  cut 
three  or  four  feet  deep,  they  must  necessarily  be  wide  enough  for 
a  man  to  work  in  without  being  cramped  for  want  of  space.  The 
narrower  a  ditch  is,  of  course  the  less  earth  there  will  be  to  dig 
up  and  shovel  out.  When  a  ditch  is  to  receive  tile  not  more  than 
five  inches  wide,  and  is  to  be  dug  not  more  than  three  feet  deep, 
it  may  be  about  ten  inches  wide  at  the  top  and  five  inches  wide 
at  the  bottom.  A  man  cannot  work  conveniently  in  a  ditch 
smaller  than  this  size.  When  a  ditch  is  to  be  filled  with  stone, 
calculations  should  first  be  made  how  large  will  be  the  stream  of 
water,  and  how  much  space  the  stone  will  occupy.  A  stoned 
13 


296  THE   YOUNG   FAKMER'S  MANUAL. 

drain  with  a  large  throat  should  never  be  less  than  three  feet 
deep.  The  larger  the  throat  is,  the  deeper  a  drain  ought  always 
to  be  made ;  because  the  wider  the  space  of  the  throat  the  more 
liable  a  drain  is  to  become  obstructed  by  the  dirt  caving  in. 
Throats  that  are  much  deeper  than  their  width  are  less  liable  to 
become  obstructed  than  those  are  which  are  wider  than  their  depth. 
Tile,  the  calibre  of  which  is  twice  as  deep  as  it  is  wide,  will  dis 
charge  water  with  greater  rapidity  than  those  will  having  round, 
or  half  round  calibre.  (See  MANUFACTURING  TILE,  436.) 

HOW  TO  DETERMINE  THE  PROPER  DEPTH  FOR  DRAINS. 

408.  A  man  who  has  had  a  good  share  of  experience  in  under- 
draining  will  be  able  to  conjecture,  in  most  instances,  about  how 
deep  ditches  should  be  cut  in  order  to  operate  most  effectually. 
But  the  correct  and  sure  way  is,  to  "  cut  and  try."  Let  the 
ditches  be  cut  about  thirty  or  thirty-six  inches  in  depth,  not  in  a 
very  wet  time,  nor  in  a  very  dry  time.  Now,  if  by  digging 
thirty  inches  deep  most  of  the  veins  of  water  seem  to  be  cut  off, 
and  but  little  bubbles  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  it  is  use 
less  to  dig  deeper.  "When  it  is  very  evident  that  a  field  needs 
draining,  and  ditches  have  been  cut  thirty  inches  deep,  and  no 
veins  of  water  are  reached,  it  is  very  conclusive  evidence  that  the 
ditches  should  be  sunk  deeper.  Again  :  when  ditches  have  been 
cut  thirty  inches  deep,  and  most  of  the  water  issues  from  the  sides, 
and  but  little  or  none  bubbles  up  in  the  bottom,  there  will -be  no 
necessity  of  sinking  them  deeper  for  the  sole  purpose  of  cutt'ig 
off  the  veins  of  water.  It  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  to  see 
about  all  the  water  that  has  been  the  cause  of  rendering  the  soil 
wet,  flow  into  a  ditch  at  twenty  or  twenty -five  inches  from  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  at  the  sides  of  the  ditch.  When  such  is 
the  case,  the  expense  of  sinking  a  ditch  more  than  thirty  inches 
deep — except  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  bottom  with  a  true 
grade,  or  for  large  tile  (see  Fig.  132) — would  be  entirely  useless. 
When  a  ditch  has  been  sunk  thirty  inches  deep,  and  the  subsoil 
appears  to  be  full  of  water,  and  but  little  water  flows  into  the 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  297 

ditch,  and  most  of  that  bubbles  up  in  the  bottom,  there  is  certain 
evidence  that  it  should  be  sunk  from  six  to  twelve,  or  perhaps 
twenty  inches  deeper.  When  the  soil  is  too  wet  to  plow,  a  ditch 
thirty  inches  deep  will  often  send  out  a  stream  of  water  sufficiently 
large  to  fill  tile  having  an  inch  and  a  half  calibre.  But  when 
that  soil  is  dry  enough  to  plow,  and  such  a  stream  of  water  can 
be  obtained  in  a  ditch  of  twenty  rods  in  length,  it  will  drain  the 
ground  for  a  rod  or  more  on  each  side  of  it.  But  when  there  is 
an  abundance  of  springs,  in  some  localities  there  will  be  four 
times  as  much  water  collected  in  a  given  distance  as  there  would 
be  in  some  others.  But  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  give  perfect 
directions  for  draining  every  place  or  field,  without  having  a  man 
of  some  experience  on  the  ground  to  examine  the  ditches,  either 
after  they  are  dug  or  while  the  digging  is  going  on.  An  engineer 
may  give  directions  for  draining  a  field,  with  the  assurance  that 
if  the  ditches  are  sunk  three  and  a  half  or  four  feet  deep  it  will 
be  thoroughly  drained ;  when,  at  the  same  time,  if  he  were  on  the 
ground  when  the  digging  of  the  ditches  was  in  progress,  he  would 
decide,  without  hesitancy,  that  it  would  be  useless  to  dig  the 
ditches  over  thirty  or  thirty-five  inches  deep,  to  collect  about  all 
the  water  that  would  be  collected  were  they  sunk  twelve  or 
twenty  inches  deeper.  I  would  by  no  means  advocate  the  prac 
tice  of  attempting  to  drain  land  with  drains  less  than  thirty  inches 
deep,  even  where  a  drain  two  feet  deep  would  collect  just  as 
much  water  as  a  deeper  one.  But  when  drains  thirty  inches 
deep  will  subserve  as  good  purpose  as  deeper  ones,  there  can  be 
no  plausible  reason  assigned  why  they  should  be  sunk  deeper. 
At  the  depth  of  thirty  inches  frost  will  never  affect  them,  nor  the 
subsoil  plow  derange  any  portion  of  them  so  as  to  obstruct  the 
water  passages.  I  refer  more  particularly  to  small  drains,  where 
there  is  but  little  water. 

MANNER    OF    FILLING     DRAINS. 

409.  The  sooner  drains  are  filled  after  they  have  been  finished, 
the  better ;  and,  in  some  instances,  it  will  be  very  necessary  to 
make  the  passage  for  the  water  as  soon  as  practicable  after  the 


298  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

ditches  have  been  dug,  on  account  of  the  liability  of  the  sides  to 
cave  in.  Ditches  ought  not  to  be  left  unfilled  during  the  sum 
mer,  so  that  cattle  and  sheep  will  be  jumping  across  them,  for 
they  will  be  very  liable  to  fall  into  them ;  and  if  they  do  not 
slip  in,  and  carry  a  portion  of  the  bank  with  them,  they  will 
often  tread  up  the  bottom  so  that  it  will  require  more  labor  to 
prepare  it  again  for  the  tile  than  most  men  are  aware  of. 

410.  Before  a  ditch  is  filled,  if  the  young  farmer  does  not 
know  positively  that  water  will  flow  freely  from  the  head  to  the 
foot  of  a  ditch,  the  fact    should  be  ascertained  without  delay. 
"When  there  is  but  little  fall,  it  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  whole 
science  of  underdraining,  to  be  greatly  deceived  with  reference  to 
the  amount  of  fall.     I  have  seen  many  instances  in  which  men, 
who  affirmed  positively  that  they  had  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt 
that  water  would  flow  from  the  head  to  the  outlet  of  a  ditch, 
were  most  wofully  disappointed  when  they  saw  water  standing  a 
foot  deep  above  the  outlet.     No  man  can  determine,  simply  by 
the  eye,  whether  water  will  run  towards  the  head  or  the  foot  of 
a  ditch,  when  the  surface  is  about  level.     I  have  seen  men  so 
confident  that  water  would  run  out,  that  they  have  stoned  their 
ditches  and  filled  them  with  earth,  and  afterwards  had  the  very 
unpleasant  satisfaction  of  learning  that  the  outlet  of  their  drain 
was  about  a  foot  higher  than  the  middle  or  the  head  of  it. 

411.  As  levelling  instruments  are  not  always  at  hand  on  a 
farm,  the  most  expeditious  and  most  accurate  manner  for  com 
mon  laborers  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  there  is  sufficient  fall  in 
a  ditch  is,  to  pour  a  barrel  or  two  of  water  into  it  at  the  head. 
If  it  will  flow  onward  until  it  reaches  the   outlet,  we  may  rest 
assured  that  water  will  not  stand  in  it  after  it  has  been  filled. 
When  a  ditch  is  thirty  or  forty  rods  in  length,  it  may  be  neces 
sary  to  pour  in  three  or  four  barrels  of  water,  as  the  earth  will 
often  absorb  one  or  two  in  a  short  distance.     It  is  a  good  prac 
tice  to  grade  the  bottom  of  a  ditch  while  there  is  a  small  stream 
of  water  in  it,  as  it  can  be  done  much  more  accurately  than  it 
usually  is  performed  when  there  is  no  water  in  it. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMEK'S  MANUAL.  299 


LAYING   TILE  IN  A  DITCH. 

412.  This  is  a  part  of  draining  which  requires  the  exercise  of 
more  good  judgment  than  anything  else  in  making  a  drain.  "When 
tile  are  all  very  straight  and  true,  and  the  ends  square,  if  the 
bottom  of  the  ditch  is  as  true  as  it  should  be  there  will  be  little 
difficulty  in  laying  them  in  the  best  manner ;  but  when  some  of 
them  are  crooked,  and  the  ends  of  many  by  no  means  as  square 
as  they  should  be,  it  is  often  difficult  to  lay  them  as  well  as  they 
should  be  laid.  I  must  condemn  the  practice,  which  is  too  fre 
quently  recommended,  of  placing  the  tile  in  the  ditch  with  a 
tile-hook  and  staff,  while  the  workman  is  standing  on  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  In  order  to  lay  tile  as  they  should  be  laid,  the 
workman  must  stand  in  the  ditch.  Of  course,  he  will  understand 
that,  in  tiling  or  stoning  a  ditch,  he  should  always  commence  at 
the  head  of  it,  so  that  nothing  can  flow  down  and  enter  the 
water  passage.  Now,  the  idea  is,  to  have  the  calibre  of  each 
tile  placed  so  that  a  smooth  passage  will  be  formed  throughout 
the  entire  length  of  the  drain.  Place  the  first  tile  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  ditch,  and  stop  the  upper  end  with  a  stone,  and  stamp 
the  tile  down  firmly  with  one  foot.  Now  place  another  to  the 
end  of  it,  and  stamp  it  down,  so  that  the  ends  will  exactly  corres 
pond.  If  a  tile  is  crooked,  and  is  of  such  a  form  that  it  will  not 
answer  to  turn  it  over  in  order  to  make  it  fit  better  on  the 
ground,  or  if  the  middle  or  one  end  of  it  is  kept  too  high  by  a 
small  stone  in  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  I  always  use  a  rammer  of 
some  description,  and  sink  the  earth  until  the  tile  will  lie  in  the 
most  desirable  position.  Sometimes  the  ends  of  one  tile  will 
pitch  down  more  than  the  tiles  at  each  end  of  it.  In  such  a  case, 
I  use  hard  dirt,  well  rammed  down,  and  lay  the  tile  on  it  and 
stamp  it  down,  or  place  a  thin  piece  of  flat  stone  under  one  or 
both  ends,  to  raise  it  to  the  desired  position.  The  ends  of  tile 
are  very  seldom  so  square  that  a  dime  could  not  be  dropped 


300  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

into  the  calibre  after  they  have  been  placed  in  the  ditch,  and 
frequently  the  ends  are  so  untrue,  that  the  upper  side  of  the 
joints  will  be  open  from  half  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch.  In  such 
a  case  I  usually  try  another  tile,  or  change  ends  with  it,  or  turn 
it  on  the  side,  or  upside  down.  If  then  I  fail  to  make  the  ends 
fit  as  closely  as  they  should,  I  place  a  lot  of  small  flat  stones 
over  and  on  the  sides  of  the  open  joint,  and  then  cover  the  stones 
with  hard  dirt  with  my  hands,  so  that  nothing  will  be  displaced 
when  the  dirt  is  plowed  or  shovelled  in.  A  tile  that  will  not 
endure  hard  stamping,  for  the  purpose  of  sinking  it  into  the  dirt, 
is  not  fit  to  be  laid  in  a  ditch.  The  aim  of  the  workman  should 
always  be,  in  laying  tile,  to  place  them  in  such  a  manner  that 
they  will  never  sink,  so  that  the  ends  of  them  will  not  be  uneven 
with  each  other.  If  the  bottom  of  a  ditch  is  neatly  graded,  and 
the  tile  are  very  true,  an  experienced  workman  will  be  able  to 
lay  three  thousand,  or  even  more  than  that  number  in  a  day. 
But  if  tile  are  crooked,  and  the  ends  not  true,  and  the  bottom  of 
the  ditch  is  full  of  little  stones  which  must  be  rammed  down  to 
a  level,  a  laborer  may  sometimes  labor  most  faithfully  and  not 
lay  more  than  one  thousand  in  a  day.  It  is  always  desirable  to 
have  the  joints  between  tile  so  close  that  there  will  be  barely 
room  to  receive  a  knife-blade  of  ordinary  thickness ;  but  if  there 
is,  in  some  places,  a  space  of  three-eighths  of  an  inch  at  the  joints 
of  tile  which  have  a  calibre  of  over  three  inches,  any  substance 
that  would  find  its  way  into  a  joint  or  space  of  that  size  would 
be  swept  out  by  the  force  of  the  stream  of  water.  When  the  cal 
ibre  of  tile  is  less  than  three  inches,  and  there  is  but  little  fall  in 
the  ditch,  the  workman  should  be  unusually  particular  in  securing 
tla  good  Jit"  at  each  joint,  as  the  current  of  water  in  small  tile 
would  be  so  slow,  where  there  is  not  more  than  six  or  eight 
inches  fall  in  one  hundred  feet,  that  it  would  not  be  very  apt  to 
carry  dirt  or  very  small  gravel  out  of  the  tile.  Some  men  seem 
to  prefer  a  little  channel  in  the  bottom  of  a  ditch,  to  lay  small  tile 
in ;  but  I  have  always  found  that  with  such  crooked,  untrue  tile 
as  we  are  obliged  to  use,  I  could  secure  a  better  fit  at  the  joints,  when 
the  bottom  of  a  ditch  was  about  five  or  six  inches  wide,  with  no 
channel  in  the  middle.  When  very  large  tile  are  used,  or  when 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL.  301 

two  rows  of  tile  are  laid  in  one  ditch,  with  a  water-        -cr      -.00 

passage  between  them,  as  shown  by  Fig.  132,  it  is       _ ^_ 

best  to  sink  a  channel,  not  more  than  an  inch 
deep,  between  the  tile,  for  the  purpose  of  prevent 
ing  the  water  from  undermining  any  of  the  tile. 
The  preceding  remarks  refer  solely  to  pipe  tile. 
But,  as  many  knowing  ones  will  persist  in  having 
half-round  or  horse-shoe  tile — although  I  do 
not  approve  of  that  form  of  tile  (see  paragraph 
438) — I  will  give  directions  for 

LAYING    HALF-ROUND    OB    HORSESHOE    TILE. 

413.  If  the  young  farmer  will  have  horseshoe  tile,  they  should 
always  be  placed  on  soles,  which  are  flat  pieces  of  burnt  clay,  of 
the  same  length  and  width  as  the  tile,  and  not  less  than  half  an  inch 
thick.  These  soles  are  placed  firmly  in  the  bottom  of  a  ditch, 
and  the  tile  placed  on  them  so  as  to  break  joint  near  the  middle 
of  the  soles.  But  both  soles  and  tile  are  so  frequently  warped 
and  twisted,  that  there  is  sufficient  room,  in  some  places,  between 
the  soles  and  the  tile,  for  meadow  mice  or  moles  to  enter  the 
water-passage  and  haul  in  dirt,  and  thus  obstruct  the  flow  of  the 
water.  Some  farmers  lay  a  narrow  board  or  plank  in  the  bottom 
of  a  ditch,  and  place  a  row  of  horseshoe  tile  on  the  boards  ;  but 
such  a  practice  cannot  be  denounced  too  strongly.  Boards  are 
so  liable  to  decay  in  places,  and  thus  allow  some  of  the  tiles  to 
sink  below  others,  that  we  cannot  calculate  with  certainty  that  a 
drain  will  not  be  obstructed  within  a  few  years,  when  the  tile  are 
laid  on  boards.  Perhaps  most  of  the  boards  might  last,  in  the 
bottom  of  the  drain,  thirty  or  forty  years  ;  but  if  there  should  be 
only  one  or  two  poor  places  in  the  boards,  an  obstruction  would 
be  formed  in  a  few  years.  When  the  bottom  of  a  ditch  is  very 
hard,  large  half-round  tile  may  be  laid  in  the  bottom,  and  sub 
serve  a  good  purpose;  but  they  should  never  be  placed  on 
boards.  When  the  ground  is  hard  they  will  never  sink  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch ;  but,  where  they  would  be  liable  to  sink  with 
out  a  board  under  them,  soles  or  sole-tile  should  be  used,  but 
boards  never.  When  small  horseshoe  tiles  are  laid  in  a  ditch 
with  boards,  it  would  be  far  better  to  sink  a  narrow  channel  in 


302  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  and  place  the  tile  in  it,  upside  down,  and 
cut  up  the  boards  into  short  pieces,  and  lay  them  crosswise  on  the 
row  of  tile.  I  should  have  far  more  confidence  in  the  durability 
of  a  drain  made  in  this  manner,  than  if  the  boards  were  beneath 
the  tile. 

MANNER    OP   LAYING   STONE    IN   A   DITCH. 

414.  Anyone  can  pitch  stones  into  a  ditch,  and  cover  them 
with  dirt ;  but,  in   order  to  have  a  stoned  drain  carry  off  the 
water  as  well  as  it  should,  and  not  become  obstructed  in  the 
water-passage,  it  is  very  important  to  have  every  stone  placed 
just  right.     The  most  common  cause  of  obstructions  in  a  stoned 
drain  is,  the  side  stones,  which,  in  consequence  of  not  being  placed 
most  correctly,  fall  over  into  the  middle  of  the  water-passage,  or  the 
stream  forms  a  channel  between  the  side  stones  and  the  sides  of 
the  drain,  and  thus  displaces  the  stones.     As  stones  of  almost 
every  form  and  size  must  be  worked  in  when  the  throat  is  laid, 
a  laborer  needs  much  judgment  and  skill  to  place  every  one  in 
such  a  manner  that  it  will  not  be  displaced. 

415.  Writers   on  draining  with  stone,  in  years  past,  recom 
mended  breaking  the  stone  as  small  as  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg  for 
filling  ditches,  and,  also,  to  have  ditches  filled  with  stone  to  a 
point  within  about  one  foot  of  the  surface  of  the  ground.     But 
the  observation  and  experience  of  our  most  successful  farmers, 
who  have  used  stone  for  filling  their  ditches,  have  induced  them 
to  come  to  the  deliberate  conclusion  that  drains  are  but  little,  if 
any,  more  effectual  in  draining  the  land,  when  they  are  filled  with 
small    stone  one   foot   above   the   throat,  than   they  are   when 
nothing  but  a  throat  is  made  of  stone,  well  chinked  with  small 
stone.     The  expense  of  digging  ditches  three  feet  deep,  and  of 
laying  a  good  throat  in  them  for  the  water,  is  quite  as  large  as 
most  farmers  are  willing  to  incur,  without  incurring  the  additional 
and  useless  expense  of  breaking  a  large  lot  of  stone  into  small 
pieces.      Any  one  who  knows  anything  about  breaking   stone 
in  very  small  pieces,  knows,  that  it  is  a  very  laborious  and  ex 
pensive  job.     As  a  good  throat  is  all  that  is  necessary  in  a  ditch, 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL.  303 

and  as  drains  are  less  liable  to  become  obstructed  in  the  water 
passage  when  there  is  only  a  throat  than  they  are  when  small 
stones  a  foot  or  more  deep  are  placed  above  it,  let  us  attend  par 
ticularly  to  the  manner  of  placing  the  stones  in  the  bottom  of  a 
ditch,  so  that  they  will  not  be  displaced  by  the  water. 

416.  If  most  of  the  stones  are  cobble  or  bowlders,  both  the 
side  stones  and  covering  stones,  place  them  as  shown  in  Fig.  133 

FIG.  133.  FIG.   134. 


MANNER   OF   STONING    AVITII    COBBLE   STONES.  IMPROPERLY   STONED. 

It  will  be  discovered  by  the  figure,  that  if  the  covering  stone  is 
removed,  the  side  stones  will  fall  into  the  water  channel.  But 
the  covering  stone  being  convex  or  circular  on  the  under  side,  it 
keeps  them  from  falling  inwards.  When  side  stones  will  not 
stand  alone  until  the  covering  stone  is  placed  on  them,  I  hold 
them  up  with  one  foot.  This  is  the  most  approved  manner  of 
stoning  a  ditch  with  small  bowlders. 

417.  "When  the  side  stones  are  flat  on  one  side  and  convex  on 
the  opposite  side,  as  shown  at  Fig.  134,  which  represents  a  stone 
drain  improperly  stoned,  they  should  be  placed,  not  as  shown  in 
the  figure,  but  with  the  flat  side  against  the  side  of  the  ditch, 
and  the  convex  side  inwards.  It  will  be  seen  by  the  figure,  that 
there  is  a  passage  for  water  between  the  side  stones  and  the  sides 
of  the  ditch, — which  is  very  objectionable.  And,  besides,  when 
the  flat  sides  of  the  side  stones  are  placed  against  the  side  of  a 
ditch,  and  not  as  shown  in  the  figure,  the  superincumbent  pres 
sure  will  all  be  near  the  corners  of  the  bottom  of  a  ditch ;  and 
not  near  the  middle  of  it,  as  here  represented.  When  stone  are 
placed  as  represented  by  this  figure,  they  are  very  liable  to  slide 
13* 


804 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


inwards,  as  they  appear  to  be  sliding  in  the  figure,  and  obstruct 
the  free  passage  of  the  water.  If  two  such  stones  were  turned 
around,  with  the  covering  stone  remaining  as  it  is  represented  in 
the  figure,  the  throat  would  carry  a  larger  stream  of  water,  and 
little  or  no  water  would  run  between  the  side  stones  and  the 
sides  of  the  ditch  ;  and  the  superincumbent  pressure  would  tend 
to  keep  the  side  stones  in  their  proper  places. 

418.  Fig.  135  represents  the  side  stones  placed  very  improp 
erly.     Great  care  should  be  exercised  in  placing  the  side  stones, 


FIG.  135. 


FIG.  136. 


VIEW  OK   BIDS  STONES 
IMPROPERLY   PLACED. 


MANNER   OF   STONING 
WITH  THIN   SIDE   STONES. 


so  as  to  have  them  of  a  uniform  height,  or  of  such  a  height  that 
the  covering  stones  will  rest  on  every  side  stone.  If  large  and  small 
side  stones  are  placed  together,  as  shown  in  the  figure,  those  that 
the  covering  stones  do  not  rest  on,  will  be  very  liable  to  fall  or 
roll  over  into  the  water  passage.  When  covering  stones  are 
broad,  the  beginner  should  see  that  every  side  stone  sustains 
some  superincumbent  pressure.  It  is  necessary,  sometimes,  to 
make  a  little  depression  with  a  pick,  for  a  side  stone  of  peculiar 
form,  in  order  to  have  it  lie  well. 

419.  Fig.  136  represents  the  most  approved  manner  of  stoning 
a  ditch,  where  most  of  the  side  stones  are  nearly  or  quite  flat. 
The  sharpest  edge  of  the  side  stones  should  be  placed  in  the 
corner  of  the  ditch,  in  order  to  make  the  throat  as  spacious  as  pos 
sible,  and  to  prevent  the  water  from  forming  a  channel  outside  of 
them. 

420.  Fig.   137  represents  a  very  good  mode  of  laying  the 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  305 

throat  of  a  drain,  when  the  covering  stones  are  flat,  and  a  little 
wider  than  the  bottom  of  the  ditch.     This  man-       FIG.   137. 
ner  of  forming  a  throat  with  flat  stones  is  far 
preferable  to  the  one  in  which  the  stones  are 
placed  like  the  rafters  of  a  building. 

421.  Chinking  with  small  stones  is  a  very  im 
portant  part  of  laying  the   stones  in   a  ditch. 
Great  pains  should  be  taken  to  chink  the  entire 
surface  so  thoroughly,  that  there  will  not  be  an 

0  8TONIKG   WITH    ONR 

open  space  as  large  as  a  mouse-hole.  When  BOW  OF  SIDE  STONES. 
flat  stones  are  used  for  covering  stones,  small  flat  stones  should 
be  used  to  cover  the  cracks  and  for  chinking ;  and,  when  bowl 
ders  are  used  for  covering  the  side  stones,  small  round  stones 
will  be  the  best  for  chinking.  After  the  chinking  has  been  thor 
oughly  performed,  it  would  be  a  good  practice  to  spread  coarse 
gravel  on  the  stones,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  out  the  moles 
and  meadow  mice.  It  would  hardly  pay,  however,  to  haul 
gravel  for  such  a  purpose  any  considerable  distance,  as  the  sur 
plus  water  would  find  its  way  into  the  throat  of  the  drain  quite 
as  well  without  the  gravel.  Let  those  who  doubt  this,  try  the 
experiment  for  a  few  years  ;  and  I  am  confident  they  will  coin 
cide  with  me  in  every  respect. 

SIDE-HILL    DRAINS. 

422.  "When  drains  that  are  filled  with  stone,  have  a  fall  or 
inclination  of  more  than  one  foot  per  lineal  rod,  if  the  bottom  of 
the  ditch  is  not  very  hard,  should  there  be  a  stream  of  water 
sufficiently  large  to  fill  a  four-inch  tile,  the  water  would  be  very 
liable  to  form  gullies,  where  it  runs  swiftly,  and  to  undermine  the 
side  stones,  thus  causing  derangement  and  obstructing  the  free  pas 
sage  of  the  water.     When  a  stream  of  water  as  large  as  a  man's 
arm  is  confined  and  pressed  a  very  little,  and  its  passage  is  down 
a  slope,  which  may  not  be  very  steep,  it  will  carry  in  it  large 
gravel  and  stones,  as  large   as  hens'  eggs ;    which,  rolling  and 
rumbling  and  tumbling  along,  will  cut  a  gully  in  a  few  weeki 
even  in  very  compact  earth.     It  is  often  very  desirable  to  make 


306  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

a  stone  drain  beneath  a  stone  wall,  which  runs  up  and  down  a 
steep  slope,  or  beneath  a  hedge  row.  (See  Par.  195  and  261.) 
In  such  localities,  a  farmer  does  not  feel  willing  to  purchase  tile 
for  that  purpose  when  suitable  stones  are  very  abundant.  Now, 
in  order  to  form  a  throat  with  stone  in  such  a  drain,  which  will 
be  as  permanent  as  the  hills,  let  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  be  fin 
ished  in  a  triangular  form,  as  represented  by  Fig.  138,  which 
represents  the  manner  of  forming  a  throat  with  thin  flat  stones. 
In  order  to  perform  the  job  in  a  workmanlike  manner,  the  work 
man  should  have  a  light  stone-hammer  for  dressing  off  the  edges, 
FIG.  138.  in  order  to  make  them  fit  well.  Should  the 
stream  be  a  small  one,  and  the  stones  small,  the 
throat  may  be  made  small.  But  should  the 
stone  average  in  size  about  one  foot  wide,  the 
channel  should  be  dug  about  one  foot  deep,  and 
two  inches  wide  in  the  bottom,  and  eight  or  nine 
inches  at  the  top.  When  flat  stones  are  scarce 
and  rather  small,  it  would  be  best  to  place  a 

MANNER   OF   STONING  A  . 

DITCH  WITH  THIN  FLAT  row  of    them  lying  flat  in  the  bottom  of  the 

STONES  ON  A  SIDE  HILL  _ 

OR  THROUGH  QUICK-  ditch  ;  and  then  form  a  throat  with  bowlders  for 
the  side  stones,  and  for  covering  stones.  This 
manner  of  forming  a  throat  with  the  bottom  flagged  with  flat 
stones,  would  be  worthy  of  adoption  where  the  subsoil  is  so  soft 
that  a  drain  is  liable  to  sink  in  it. 

FILLING    IN    THE    EARTH. 

423.  Every  writer  on  underdraining,  whose  writings  have  come 
under  my  observation,  has  recommended  placing  sods  directly  on 
tile  or  stone  when  filling  in  the  dirt.  My  experience  in  under- 
draining  teaches  me  that  this  practice  is  by  no  means  a  good 
one  ;  and  I  am  confident  that  every  intelligent  farmer,  who  will 
or  who  has  given  the  subject  a  proper  investigation,  will  coincide 
with  me.  When  sods  are  placed  over  stone  or  over  the  joints  of 
tile  in  an  inverted  position,  they  will  exclude  most  effectually  the 
loose  dirt  from  the  joints  of  the  tile  and  from  the  interstices  be 
tween  the  stones.  But  it  must  be  remembered,  that  sods  in  such 


THE  YOUNG  FAKMER'S  MANUAL.  307 

places  will  very  soon  decay,  forming  a  complete  bed  of  mellow, 
fine  earth,  which  will  be  very  easily  washed  into  the  calibre,  or 
worked  in  by  moles  or  mice.  When  straw  or  shavings  are  used, 
they  soon  decay,  and  furnish  an  abundance  of  the  right  kind  of 
substance  to  obstruct  the  water  passage.  When  mellow  earth  is 
placed  on  the  stone,  moles  and  mice  will  haul  it  down  and  fill  the 
throat  full  in  one  season.  But  if  hard  earth  is  placed  directly  on 
the  stones,  they  find  it  impossible  to  work  holes  through  it ;  and, 
therefore,  they  will  not  be  able  to  obstruct  the  water  passage 
with  earth.  I  was  once  accustomed  to  put  straw  on  the  stones 
in  my  drains,  and  to  place  sods,  inverted,  next  to  the  stones ;  but 
I  found  that  the  moles  and  meadow  mice  made  holes  so  readily 
from  the  throat  to  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  hauled  in  so 
much  dirt,  that  I  abandoned  the  use  of  straw  entirely ;  and  in 
stead  of  putting  the  sods  on  the  stones,  the  hard  subsoil  is  always 
placed  directly  on  them. 

424.  My  practice  now  is — and  I  find  that  all  our  best  farmers 
are  adopting  it — to  return  not  less  than  six  inches  in  depth  of  the 
hardest  sub-soil  directly  on  the  tile  or  stone.  I  always  prefer  to 
shovel  it  in  when  it  is  wet,  as  it  will  set,  and  form  a  more  compact 
covering  when  it  is  wet  than  it  will  when  the  dirt  will  crumble. 
In  covering  tile,  I  always  fill  with  a  shovel  about  six  inches  above 
the  tile,  and  exercise  great  care  that  small  stones  do  not  fall  on 
the  tile,  and  crush  them.  In  covering  stone,  I  shovel  in  about 
six  inches  of  hard  dirt,  and  then  tread  it  down  firmly — not  with 
a  horse,  as  I  have  read  of  in  some  agricultural  journals,  but 
with  my  own  feet.  After  this,  plow  in  the  dirt  with  one  horse. 
One  horse  is  better  than  two  horses,  even  when  they  draw  by 
a  long  whippletree,  because  they  are  usually  afraid  of  getting  into 
the  ditch.  After  the  ditch  has  been  filled  so  that  one  horse  can 
travel  on  the  dirt  in  it  without  danger  of  displacing  the  stone  or 
tile,  it  is  best  to  plow  with  two  horses.  Great  care  should  be  ex 
ercised  by  the  workmen  not  to  allow  a  horse  to  step  in  a  ditch 
when  there  is  but  little  earth  over  the  stone  or  tile,  as  he  will 
surely  displace  some  of  them. 

425.  Of  the  many  hundreds  of  rods  of  underdrains  which  are 


308  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

on  my  farm,  of  tile  and  stone,  my  own  hands  have  laid  every 
foot ;  and  there  is  not  a  rod  of  it  that  does  not  work  very  effect 
ually.  I  have  never  dared  to  trust  those  men  to  fill  my  ditches 
who  were  employed  by  my  neighbors ;  because  they  do  not,  in 
some  instances,  know  how  to  perform  such  a  job  in  the  most 
approved  manner;  and,  when  they  do  know,  they  are  too  apt 
to  slight  it.  Being  unable,  once,  to  use  a  shovel  myself,  I  em 
ployed  a  man  to  fill  a  short  ditch  after  the  tile  had  been  laid,  and, 
although  he  had  put  straw  over  the  tile,  he  had  allowed  small 
stones  to  drop  on  them,  which  had  broken  them  in  three  different 
places,  and  obstructed  the  water  passage.  A  stone  as  large  as  a 
hen's  egg,  when  allowed  to  fall  on  tile  in  a  deep  ditch,  if  it  should 
strike  just  right,  would  break  it.  I  pen  these  observations  that 
the  young  farmer  may  see  the  importance  of  being  very  careful 
in  placing  the  first  earth  on  the  tile. 

HOW    TO    FIND    WHERE    A    DRAIN    IS    OBSTRUCTED. 

426.  If  the  locality  of  a  drain  is  known  exactly,  when  the 
water  passage  is  obstructed  dig  down  to  the  tile  or  stone ;   and 
if  water  does  not  rise  in  the  hole  where  you  dug,  the  obstruction 
is  above  that  place.     (See   Par.   6  and  7.)     Now  pass  on  up 
stream,  until  it  is  thought  best  to  dig    again,  or  until  the  soil 
appears  to  be  full  of  water,  and  dig  another   hole.      Now,  if 
water  rises  in  the  hole  from  the  calibre  and  stands  in  the  hole, 
the  obstruction  is  below  that  point.     If  there  is  not  more  water 
than  the  drain  can  carry,  the  soil  will  be  dry  a  short  distance 
down  stream  from  the  obstruction.     If  the  exact  locality  of  a 
drain  is  not  known,  it  may  be  found  sometimes  by  running  a 
crowbar  down  for  every  six  inches  ;  and  when  it  is  thrust  in  over 
the  drain,  it  will  go  down  much  faster  and  more  easily  than  it 
will  when  the  subsoil  has  not  been  disturbed. 

HOW  TO  FORM  THE  OUTLET  OF  DRAINS. 

427.  Both  stone  drains  and  tile  drains  are  very  apt  to  be  dis 
turbed  and  displaced  by  the  frost  at  the  outlets.     In  order  to  pre- 


THE  YOUNG  FAKMER'S    MANUAL.  309 

vent  the  frost  from  injuring  them,  lay  a  few  feet  of  the  outlet 
with  scantling  and  plank ;  or,  with  scantling  for  the  sides  and 
flat  stones  for  covering.  Timber  for  such  places  should  be  of  the 
most  durable  kind.  The  earth  should  be  shovelled  away  at  the 
outlet  as  often  as  it  works  inward  so  as  to  obstruct  the  water 
from  flowing  freely.  The  practice  is  too  prevalent,  even  among 
some  good  farmers,  of  leaving  the  earth  some  three  or  four  inches 
higher,  a  few  feet  below  the  outlet,  than  it  is  at  the  end  of  the 
calibre.  When  left  in  such  a  condition,  drains  are  very  liable  to 
fill  up  in  the  calibre  near  the  end  of  the  outlet.  The  young 
farmer  should  not  neglect  to  have  the  earth  cleared  away  in 
the  spring  and  in  autumn,  so  that  the  stream  of  water  may 
wash  out  all  gravel  and  fine  earth  which  has  found  its  way  into 
the  calibre.  But  if  water  is  forced  to  "  back  up  "  at  the  outlet, 
gravel  and  earth  will  be  carried  down  almost  to  the  outlet,  where 
it  will  lodge  and  soon  close  the  water  passage. 

HOW    TO  FORM    SMALL    POOLS    IN  A  DRAIN    FOR  WATERING   STOCK. 

428.  On  farms  where  all  the  water  is  collected  in  underdrains, 
it  is  often  very  convenient  to  have  some  arrangement  so  that 
animals  may  obtain  water.  Water  is  collected  in  underdrains,  on 
my  own  farm,  which  run  the  whole  length  of  it.  At  the  lower 
side  of  each  field  I  cut  a  gully  with  plow  and  scraper,  directly 
across  the  drain,  wide  enough  for  a  span  of  horses  and  plow  to 
pass  back  and  forth,  and  not  less  than  six  inches  deeper  than  the 
bottom  of  the  drain,  after  the  tile  or  stone  have  been  removed. 
Now,  place  a  box  without  a  bottom  in  it,  made  of  good  plank, 
three  or  four  feet  long  and  about  two  feet  wide,  and  one  foot  or 
more  high,  with  the  corners  halved  or  rabbeted  together  in  the 
channel  of  the  drain.  In  the  upper  end  of  the  box  cut  a  hole  a 
little  larger  than  the  calibre  of  the  tile  or  stone  ;  and  in  the  lower 
end  of  the  box,  bore  a  dozen  or  more — according  to  the  size  of 
the  calibre — inch  holes,  close  together.  At  the  lower  end  of  the 
box,  on  the  outside,  make  a  large  calibre  with  flat  stones,  for  a 
foot  or  two  from  the  box,  so  as  to  direct  the  water,  as  it  flows 


310 

through  the  holes  in  the  box,  into  the  calibre  of  the  drain. 
Chink  it  well  with  small  stones,  so  that  mice  cannot  haul  in  dirt 
and  stop  the  passage.  Now,  let  the  box  be  well  staked  to  keep 
it  in  its  place.  The  box  should  be  the  widest  at  the  bottom  so 
that  the  frost  will  not  lift  it.  In  lieu  of  stakes,  if  a  man  has 
an  abundance  of  plank,  it  would  be  better  to  allow  the  ends  of 
the  side  plank  to  extend  into  each  bank,  above  and  below  the 
main  box.  On  each  side  of  the  box  the  earth  should  be  kept 
shovelled  away,  so  that  cattle  when  drinking  may  stand  as  low  as 
the  surface  of  the  water  is  in  the  box.  In  times  of  high  water, 
such  watering  places  will  be  overflowed  ;  but  if  there  are  enough 
holes  in  the  lower  end  of  the  box,  the  drain  will  never  be  injured 
by  the  water. 

429.  The  object  of  having  the  box  sunk  deeper  than  the  cali 
bre  of  the  drain  is,  to  allow  all  gravel  and  dirt  that  may  be 
washed  out  to  lodge  in  the  sink,  so  that  it  can  be  shovelled  out 
when  the  water  is  low.  The  gully  should  be  so  wide  across  the 
ditch  that  cattle  can  go  down  and  drink,  and  turn  around  and 
come  up  again,  without  difficulty.  By  having  the  earth  exca 
vated  on  each  side  of  the  box  so  that  they  can  go  down  and 
drink,  if  a  small  animal  should  get  cornered  by  a  large  one,  it 
may  jump  over  the  box  and  escape  on  the  other  side.  Such 
watering-places  should  be  examined  very  often,  and  cleaned  out, 
if  necessary,  as  cattle  are  very  liable  to  drop  their  excrement  in 
and  about  the  pools  where  they  are  accustomed  to  drink. 


DITCHES    OR    OPEN    DRAINS. 

430.  "When  there  is  a  stream  of  water  so  large  that  it  would 
be  too  expensive  to  have  it  run  in  an  underdrain,  it  is  necessary 
to  have  open  drains.  These  can  be  made  with  a  plow  and 
scraper  very  much  cheaper  than  they  can  be  excavated  with 
spades  and  shovels.  Open  drains  should  be  made  so  wide  that 
the  banks  will  not  be  continually  caving  in ;  and  so  deep  that 
where  the  water  from  underdrains  flows  into  them  it  may  flow 
freely.  The  banks  of  an  open  drain  should  slopo  not  less  than  at 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  311 

an  angle  of  forty -five  degrees.  Accordingly,  when  a  ditch  is  cut 
thirty  inches  deep,  and  is  ten  inches  wide  on  the  bottom,  it  should 
be  forty  inches  wide  at  the  top. 

431.  In  localities  where  the  water  flows  with  such  a  rapid  cur 
rent  as  to  wash  out  deep  gullies  in  a  short  period  of  time,  the 
bottom  and  sides  of  open  drains  should  be  paved  or  flagged  with 
small  stones.  The  sides  need  not  be  paved  more  than  one-third 
or  half  way  to  the  top  of  the  banks — according  to  the  amount  of 
water  that  usually  flows  in  it.  In  places  where  water  flows  only 
a  part  of  the  season,  in  order  to  prevent  it  from  forming  gullies, 
the  bottom  and  sides  of  open  drains  should  be  scratched  over 
with  an  iron-toothed  rake,  and  grass  seed — red-top  seed  is  best — 
sown  on  them  in  the  fore  part  of  summer,  in  order  to  form  a  sod. 
But  where  the  water  seldom  or  never  dries  up,  the  bottom  and 
sides  must  be  paved,  or  simply  covered  with  flat  stones.  The 
gutters  along  some  highways,  where  flood-water  is  apt  to  form 
gullies,  should  be  smoothed  off,  and  grass  seed  sown  to  form  a 
sod ;  or,  they  should  be  paved  or  flagged  with  small  flat  stones. 


PILLING    DITCHES    WITH    WOOD. 

432.  I  would  never  advocate  the  practice  of  filling  ditches  with 
wood,  in  any  form,  where  stone  of  suitable  sizes  or  tile  can  be 
readily  obtained.  But  where  timber  is  cheap,  and  stone  and  tile 
scarce,  it  is  infinitely  better  to  fill  them  with  plank  than  to  at 
tempt  to  drain  land  with  open  ditches.  I  have  known  many 
farmers  to  use  split  timber  about  the  size  of  rails  for  the  side 
pieces,  and  split  slabs  for  covering  them.  But  with  materials  in 
such  a  form  it  is  always  very  difficult  to  perform  a  job  in  a 
proper  manner.  There  will  be  so  many  large  cracks  between 
the  side  pieces  and  the  cover,  that  such  drains  always  become 
obstructed  in  a  very  few  years.  I  have  filled  several  ditches  on 
my  farm  with  plank,  because  tile  and  stone  were  scarce ;  and  I 
see  no  good  reason  why  such  drains  will  not  work  well  for  thirty 
or  forty  years,  providing  the  outlets  are  kept  clear,  and  the  earth 
is  not  allowed  to  enter  at  the  head. 


312  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL* 

433.  Fig.  139  represents  the  best  manner  of  filling  with  wood. 
F  1  39  Where  there  would  be  a  stream  of  water  as 
large  as  a  man's  leg,  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  is 
dug  about  ten  inches  wide,  with  the  corners 
dressed  out  very  true,  and  a  channel  sunk  in  the 
bottom,  as  shown,  in  the  figure,  from  four  to  six 
inches  deep.  Great  care  should  be  exercised  in 
cutting  the  channel,  so  that  each  bank  be  not 
broken  up.  Now,  have  a  log  sawed  into  strips 

MANNER  OF  FILLING  an  ^nck  an(^  a  na^  ^7  two  inches  square,  for  the 
DRAINS  WITH  PLANK.  si(}e.pieces.  I  have  always  had  my  logs  sawed 
into  plank,  and  then  the  plank  were  slit  with  a  circular  horse-saw 
into  two-inch  strips.  (See  SLITTING  TABLE,  Par.  689.)  I  have 
sometimes  slit  up  inch  boards  into  strips  two  inches  wide  ;  and  I 
think  they  are  quite  as  good  as  if  they  were  an  inch  and  a  half 
thick.  The  covering  should  never  be  less  than  two  inches  thick  ; 
and  plank  should  never  be  placed  lengthways  of  a  ditch,  but  al 
ways  crossways.  Because,  when  a  plank  is  placed  lengthways  it 
is  very  liable  to  split,  in  consequence  of  a  heavy  superincumbent 
pressure,  and  thus  obstruct  the  water  course.  But  when  placed 
crossways  there  is  no  danger  of  their  splitting.  And,  more  than 
this,  when  plank  are  placed  crossways  there  is  no  waste,  as  plank 
of  any  width  can  be  used ;  whereas,  if  laid  lengthways  they  must 
be  all  of  a  uniform  width.  I  saw  up  the  covering  plank,  with  a 
horse  saw,  as  long  as  the  width  of  the  ditch.  Now  place  two 
side-pieces  in  the  ditch,  and  lay  a  plank  on  them,  and  nail  it. 
Nail  a  plank  at  the  end  of  every  side-piece.  The  plank  should 
be  placed  about  half  an  inch  apart,  if  they  are  a  foot  wide,  and 
seasoned,  so  that  when  the  water  expands  or  swells  them,  the  joints 
will  not  be  so  tight  that  there  will  be  no  space  for  the  water  to 
enter.  If  there  is  but  little  water  to  flow  in  a  drain,  and  the  sub 
soil  is  very  hard,  I  dispense  with  the  side-pieces,  and  lay  the 
plank  over  the  channel,  on  the  earth.  Seasoned  plank  in  a  drain 
will  last  twice  as  long  as  green  ones  ;  and  they  will  be  much  more 
durable  in  a  deep  ditch  than  they  will  in  a  shallow  one ;  and  in  a 
ditch  where  there  is  water  nearly  all  the  year,  they  will  outlast 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  313 

those  that  are  laid  where  there  is  no  water  during  the  summer. 
Necessity  compelled  me  to  use  hemlock  or  elm  plank.  But  the 
better  the  timber  is,  the  more  durable  a  drain  will  be.  As  plank 
is  costly,  I  have  in  some  instances  sawed  up  slabs  for  covering. 

434.  The  young  farmer  should  be  very  careful  not  to  lay  any 
poor  pieces  of  plank  in  a  drain.     Plank  sawed  out  of  logs  near  the 
tops  of  trees,  in  most  kinds  of  timber,  will  not  be  as  durable  as 
plank  cut  from  the  butt  logs.     Let  the  best  plank  be  laid  at  the 
lower  end  of  a  drain ;  and  if  poor  pieces  must  be  used, — although 
they  had  better  be  thrown  among  the  firewood, — let  them  all  be 
placed  together  at  the  upper  end  of  the  drain.     Now  return  about 
a  foot  in  depth  of  the  hardest  dirt,  and  tread  it  down  well ;  and 
should  the  plank  decay  in  less  than  twenty  years,  in  which  time 
they  probably  will  not,  the  earth  will  be  so  compact  that  a  water- 
passage  would  remain  in.  the  earth  for  ages  to  come.      In  filling 
in  the  earth  on  plank,  I  am  always  careful  to  see  that  no  stones 
lie  directly  on  the  plank.     My  plank  drains  seem  to  drain  the  land 
as  soon  and  as  effectually  as  tile  or  stone. 

ON   THE    COMPARATIVE    VALUE    OF    STONE,  TILE   AND    PLANK 
FOR    FILLING    DITCHES. 

435.  In  making  small  drains,  where  two-inch  tile  will  carry 
the  water,  providing  tile  do  not  have  to  be  hauled  more  than 
four  or  five  miles,  the  expense  in  dollars  and  cents  of  purchasing 
two-inch  tile  and  laying  them,  would  be  less  than  the  expense  of 
picking  up  and  laying  the  stone  for  a  given  number  of  rods.     But 
a  tile   drain  is  always  letter  than  stone   or  wood  drains.      The 
expense   of  purchasing,   hauling,   and  laying  four-inch  tile  will 
greatly  exceed  the  expense  of  a  stone  or  plank  drain,  which  will 
carry  a  stream  of  equal  size.     I  always  consider  it  the  best  policy 
to  use  up  my  stone  in  making  drains,  as  far  as  they  will  go,  and 
then,  if  there  is  but  little  water,  use  tile ;  and  if  there  is  a  stream 
large  enough  to  fill  a  four-inch  tile,  use  plank.      Four:inch  tile 
cost  at  our  works,  eighteen  miles  from  me,  forty  dollars  per  thou 
sand  ;  and  a  thousand  tile  fourteen  inches  long  will  lay  about 
seventy  rods.     Now  if  stone  are  not  too  scarce  and  scattering, 


314:  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

a  man  can  pick  up  and  haul  stone  sufficient  for  ten  rods  of  drain, 
and  lay  them,  in  a  day.  Where  there  is  an  abundance  of  good 
stone,  he  will  accomplish  more  than  that.  Almost  any  intelligent 
school-boy  will  be  able  to  determine  how  many  feet  of  plank  it  will 
require  to  fill  a  rod  in  length  of  a  drain  having  a  water-passage  of  a 
given  size.  When  there  is  a  large  stream  of  water,  the  side-pieces 
might  be  three  or  four  inches  wide,  and  the  covering  plank  twelve  or 
fourteen  inches  long.  (See  Fig.  139.)  Suppose,  for  example,  that  it 
costs  fifty  dollars  to  fill  seventy  rods  of  drain  with  tile  having  five- 
inch  calibre,  making  no  account  of  the  expense  of  hauling  them.  If 
they  are  thoroughly  burnt,  a  drain  made  with  them  would  remain 
good  during  all  time.  Now,  then,  if  a  channel  is  cut  in  the  bot 
tom  of  the  ditch  three  inches  deep,  two  inches  wide  on  the  bottom 
and  four  inches  wide  at  the  top,  with  side-pieces  two  inches  high 
and  an  inch  and  a  half  thick,  covered  with  plank  eight  inches 
long,  a  calibre  or  throat  would  be  formed  which  would  b^  equal 
in  size  to  the  calibre  of  a  tile,  the  superficial  measure  of  which 
is  equal  to  twenty-two  square  inches.  A  throat  of  the  size 
just  mentioned  would  carry  a  larger  stream  of  water  than  tile 
having  five-inch  calibre ;  and  it  would  require  for  seventy 
rods  about  two  thousand  one  hundred  feet  of  lumber,  which 
would  cost  in  many  localities  fifteen  dollars  per  one  thousand 
feet ;  but  in  many  other  places,  lumber  of  equal  value  would  not 
cost  over  five  dollars  per  one  thousand  feet.  Now,  allowing  that 
a  plank  drain  would  last  only  fifteen  years  before  it  would  need 
to  be  newly  planked ;  and  allowing  that  it  would  cost  twenty 
cents  per  rod  to  re-dig  the  ditch  every  fifteen  years,  which  would 
use  up  $14.00 ;  and  reckoning  the  interest  on  the  money,  being 
the  difference  between  the  first  cost  of  tile  and  the  first  cost  of 
plank,  we  find  that  it  will  not  cost  half  as  much,  in  dollars  and 
cents,  where  large  tile  is  used,  to  keep  drains  in  order  one  hun 
dred  years,  filling  with  plank  every  fifteen  years,  as  it  will  to  use 
large  tile.  But  who  would  like  an  arrangement  in  which  all  the 
leading  drains  of  a  farm  must  be  re-dug  and  re  planked  every 
twelve,  or  fifteen,  or  even  twenty  years  ?  It  is  better  to  use  plank 
than  not  to  have  drains,  where  tile  nor  stone  are  not  at  hand. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL.  315 

ON    THE    MANUFACTURE    OF    DRAIN    TILE. 

436.  After  the  clay  has  been  worked  by  machinery  so  that  it 
is  of  the  right  consistence,  it  is  forced  through  dies  in  the  side  of 
a  strong  box,  which  is  usually  made  of  iron,  with  the  inside  planed 
smooth  and  true ;  and  as  several  of  them  are  forced  out  side  by 
side,  they  are  received  on  a  table  of  small  rollers,  until  they  are 
several  feet  in  length,  in  one  piece.     A  small  frame  is  then  lifted, 
by  which  small  wires  cut  the  tile  of  the  desired  length.     An  in 
strument  like  a  wooden  fork,  with  round  tines  or  fingers,  is  run  in 
the  calibres  of  the  tile,  and  by  this  they  are  lifted  from  the  table 
and  placed  carefully  on  shelves  to  dry,  in  a  building  which  is  open 
on  the  sides.     After  they  have  become  so  dry  that  they  will  sus 
tain  the  superincumbent  pressure  of  each  other,  they  are  placed 
in  a  kiln  and  burned  for  several  successive  days  and  nights,  until 
they  are  so  hard  that  they  will  not  disintegrate  or  fall  to  pieces 
when  they  are  placed  in  a  ditch.     In  handling  tile  when  they  are 
in  a  plastic  state,  careless  workmen  often  handle  them  roughly, 
and  thus  deprive  them  of  their  true  form,  by  bunting  the  ends 
against  the  shelves,  or  by  allowing  them  to  be  bent  with  the 
fingers  of  the  fork.     If  farmers  would  insist  on  rejecting  every  ill- 
shaped  tile,  manufacturers  would  soon  learn  to  handle  them  with 
care.     Some  of  them  will  spring  a  little  when  they  are  being 
burned,  but  that  will  not  injure  them  if  the  calibre  and  ends  are 
true.      Sometimes  a  kilnful  of  tile  is  about  half  burned.      But 
honest  tile-makers  will  not  allow  those  that  are  not  thoroughly 
burned  to  be  sold  until  they  have  been  re-burned. 

437.  Good  tile,  when  they  are  handled,  will  ring  like  stone 
ware,  if  they  are  not  saturated  with  water.     But  those  that  are 
not  thoroughly  burned  will  emit  a  dull  sound,  and  should  be  re 
jected.      When   good   tile  are  saturated  with  water   they  are 
nearly  one-third  heavier  to  haul,  and  will  not  emit  a  clear  sound 
when  struck. 

THE    BEST    FORM    OF    CALIBRE    FOR    TILE. 

438.  Tile  having  the  calibre  of  the  shape  of  a  turkey's  egg, 
pin  red  with  the  small  end  down,  are  preferable   to  those  of  any 


316  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

other  form,  because  the  narrower  the  channel  is  on  the  bottom, 
the  more  rapidly  the  stream  will  flow  ;  and  the  swifter  the  stream 
flows,  the  more  gravel  and  dirt  which  may  find  way  into  the 
calibre  will  be  carried  out  with  the  stream.  Therefore  sole  tile, 
with  egg-shaped  calibre,  when  they  are  made  true,  are  preferable 
to  tile  of  any  other  form.  But  when  we  must  take  up  with  those 
that  have  been  jammed  and  pinched  and  heedlessly  knocked  into 
the  shape  of  a  cocked-hat,  when  in  a  plastic  state,  round  tile  are 
preferable  to  those  of  any  other  form,  because  one  can  make  letter 
joints  in  laying  them.  Half-round  or  horseshoe  tile  will  become 
obstructed  with  sedimentary  matter  much  sooner  than  sole  tile 
with  egg-shaped  calibre.  Pieces  of  tile,  for  the  junction  of  drains, 
are  manufactured  with  one  or  two  branches  on  the  sides,  or  with 
two  calibres  at  one  end  like  a  fork,  and  one  at  the  other  end. 

COST    OF   DIGGING   DITCHES. 

439.  It  will  cost  twice  as  much  to  dig  a  ditch  of  a  given  depth 
and  breadth  in  some  localities  as  it  will  in  others ;  and  even  on 
the  same  farm,  and  sometimes  in  the  same  field,  a  man  will  be  able 
to  dig  twice  as  much  as  in  others.  If  the  subsoil  is  so  hard  and 
stony  that  it  must  be  all  picked  up  with  a  sharp  pick,  if  a  laborer 
cuts  six  or  eight  rods  in  length,  of  thirty  inches  deep,  in  a  day,  he 
performs  a  faithful  day's  work.  It  is  acknowledged  by  every 
experienced  ditcher  that  it  is  proportionally  more  expensive  cut 
ting  deep  ditches  than  shallow  ones.  After  a  ditch  is  dug  thirty 
inches  deep,  it  is  worth,  in  some  ground,  from  eight  to  ten  cents 
more  per  rod  for  the  next  foot  in  depth.  In  ordinary  digging,  all 
good  ditchers  will  be  able  to  dig  a  rod  in  length  of  tile  ditch,  thirty 
inches  deep,  in  an  hour.  Very  many  ditchers  will  perform  more 
than  this,  while  many  who  have  had  but  little  experience,  and 
handle  their  tools  awkwardly,  will  not  be  able  to  do  more  than 
one  rod  in  length  in  two  hours.  "Where  ditching  is  performed  as 
recommended  in  paragraph  402,  ditches  for  a  single  row  of  tile, 
three  feet  deep,  ought  not  to  cost  over  ten  or  fifteen  cents  per 
rod,  according  to  the  compactness  of  the  subsoil ;  and  the  cost  will 
not  exceed  that  sum,  if  laborers  are  willing  to  do  a  faithful  day's 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  317 

work.  "Where  the  subsoil  is  so  free  from  stone  that  a  ditching 
machine  can  be  used  advantageously,  the  cost,  per  rod,  is  still 
less.  When  a  man  can  spade  most  of  the  earth,  if  he  is  a  good 
ditcher,  and  willing  to  do  a  faithful  day's  work,  he  can  make  good 
wages  by  digging  ditches  thirty  inches  deep,  and  eight  or  ten 
inches  wide  on  the  bottom,  for  fifteen  cents  per  rod.  If  a  laborer 
is  not  able  to  do  this,  he  may  safely  conclude  that  he  is  an  inferior 
laborer,  and  should  be  willing  to  work  for  wages  in  proportion  to 
the  amount  of  work  performed.  I  have  had  several  hundred  rods 
of  ditch  dug,  not  less  than  thirty  inches  deep  in  the  lowest  place, 
and  eight  inches  wide  on  the  bottom,  for  fifteen  cents  per  rod,  the 
ditchers  boarding  themselves.  And  they  earned,  in  some  in 
stances,  at  that  price,  from  $1  to  $1  75  per  day.  A  faithful 
laborer  will  shovel  out  a  long  piece  in  a  day ;  and  when  a  man 
can  procure  laborers  who  are  willing  to  do  an  ordinary  day's  work 
for  one  dollar,  or  one  dollar  twenty -five  cents,  it  is  the  most  econom 
ical  way  to  use  the  plow,  as  recommended  in  paragraph  402. 
The  habits  of  most  ditchers  are  so  detrimental  to  their  health  and 
strength,  that  their  powers  of  endurance  fail  when  they  attempt 
to  perform  a  day's  work ;  and  therefore  they  increase  the  price 
per  rod  in  order  to  make  fair  wages  by  performing  less  labor. 
For  this  reason  ditches  of  a  given  depth,  which  a  few  years  ago 
cost  fifteen  cents  per  rod,  will  now  cost  twenty  and  twenty -five 
cents  per  rod.  But  even  at  those  prices,  drains  will  often  pay  for 
themselves  in  the  first  crop. 

KECAPITULATION. CONCLUDING    REMARKS. 

440.  Underdraining  will  pay,  and  pay  well,  too,  and  no  intel 
ligent  farmer  will  attempt  to  deny  it.  If  the  young  farmer  feels 
incompetent  to  lay  out  his  drains  most  economically,  it  may  save 
him  hundreds  of  dollars  eventually  to  confer  with  some  ex 
perienced,  successful  farmer,  who  has  had  much  experience  in 
draining.  This  confiding  in  the  directions  of  some  would-be  engi 
neer,  who  knows  so  much  that  his  wisdom  is  a  decided  disad 
vantage  to  him ;  or  laying  out  ditches,  according  to  the  notions 
of  some  ditchers,  who  know  more  than  experience  ever  taught 


318  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

about  ditching,  will  sometimes  drain  land  and  sometimes  not. 
Don't  be  a  three- cent  farmer,  especially  in  underdraining.  If 
drains  thirty  inches  deep  will  drain  the  land  effectually,  it  is  un- 
neces.:ary  to  sink  them  deeper.  If  a  three,  or  four,  or  five,  or  even 
six  feet  drain  is  needed,  never  stop  to  compute  the  cost.  Insist 
on  having  everything  performed  just  right.  Never  yield  to  the 
suggestions  of  any  one  to  make  a  drain  according  to  the  good- 
enough-for-the-present  system.  If  one  or  two  day's  work  in  a  drain 
seems  to  be  necessary,  drop  every  other  job  and  have  it  done  in 
time.  When  a  laborer  has  completed  a  job  of  ditching  by  the  job, 
and  a  ditch  is  not  as  deep  as  it  should  be  in  some  places,  if  he  has 
dug  as  deep  as  he  agreed  to  dig,  employ  him  a  day  or  so  to  com 
plete  it.  Never  commence  filling  a  ditch  until  you  have  seen 
water  now  from  the  upper  end  to  the  lower  end,  except  one 
knows  positively  that  it  will  flow  as  directed.  Water,  in  such 
places,  never  deceives  us.  Levelling  instruments  may  be  incor 
rect,  or  may  vary,  or  an  inexperienced  hand  may  not  adjust  them 
correctly.  Water  is  the  cheapest  and  the  best,  and  always  at 
hand,  even  if  it  is  not  found  in  a  ditch.  Never  spoil  a  drain  for 
the  sake  of  using  up  every  tile,  both  good  and  poor.  If  you  are 
a  little  suspicious  that  a  tile  is  not  hard  enough,  if  it  must  be 
used,  lay  all  of  that  kind  at  the  upper  end  of  the  ditch,  and  lay 
them  all  together.  Thousands  of  rods  of  drain  have  been  stop 
ped,  simply  from  this  cause, — laying,  occasionally,  a  tile  among 
good  ones,  which  was  so  soft  that  it  disintegrated  in  one  season. 
Never  make  a  drain  with  two-inch  tile  to  carry  a  stream  of  water 
which  will  be  large  enough  to  fill  a  four-inch  tile.  Let  every  tile 
and  stone  and  plank  be  laid  by  some  one  who  is  a  little  interested 
in  having  it  done  well.  Do  not  trust  a  man  to  work  at  filling  a 
ditch  who  insists  that  he  can  stand  on  the  surface  of  the  ground 
and  do  it  just  as  well  as  to  get  into  the  ditch.  If  it  is  likely  to 
ruin  a  man's  reputation  should  he  be  found  with  India-rubber 
boots  on,  and  other  ditching  duds,  filling  a  ditch,  then  let  it  go. 
In  filling  a  ditch  with  stone,  endeavor  to  make  the  throat  or  cali 
bre  of  a  uniform  size.  If  the  side  stones  are  so  large  that  they 
will  extend  nearly  across  the  bottom  of  a  ditch,  place  a  bowlder 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  319 

on  one  side,  and  a  flat  one  on  the  other  side.  Allow  nothing  to 
be  done  in  a  superficial,  perfunctory  manner.  Keep  sods,  and 
mellow  earth,  and  straw,  and  all  such  substances  out  of  a  drain 
until  after  several  inches  in  depth  of  hard  earth  have  been  placed 
on  the  stone  or  tile.  Never  allow  a  stream  of  water  to  flow  on 
the  surface  of  the  ground  directly  over  a  drain,  because  if  it  is  a 
stone  drain,  the  water  will  most  certainly  find  a  hole  downwards 
into  the  calibre,  and  wash  in  dirt,  and  thus  obstruct  the  water 
passage.  In  places  where  water  is  apt  to  flow  on  the  surface  in 
times  of  high  water,  have  a  furrow  on  one  side  of  the  drain  for  the 
flood  water  to  flow  in,  and  have  the  earth  raised  over  the  drain 
a  few  inches  above  the  common  level.  If  a  drain  is  filled  with 
tile  that  are  not  open  on  the  bottom,  if  a  stream  flows  along  the 
surface  directly  over  the  drain,  there  is"  no  danger  that  it  will 
injure  a  drain.  Always  keep  a  vigilant  eye  on  drains;  and, 
above  all,  keep  the  outlets  clear.  If  a  main  drain  prove  to  be 
too  small  to  carry  all  the  water,  let  another  one  be  made  a  short 
distance  from  it.  Never  allow  the  water  flowing  from  a  stoned 
drain  to  flow  into  small  tile,  lest  some  obstruction  lodge  in  the 
tile.  Where  a  part  of  a  drain  is  filled  with  tile,  and  a  part  with 
stone,  if  the  calibre  of  the  tile  is  less  than  four  inches  in  diameter, 
always  put  the  tile  at  the  upper  end  of  the  drain.  I  have  seen 
drains  filled  with  tile,  and  then  a  row  of  flat  stones  laid  on  each  side 
of  the  tile,  from  the  top  of  the  tile  to  the  bottom  of  the  drain,  form 
ing  a  water  passage  on  both  sides  of  the  tile.  This  practice  is 
very  objectionable,  because  the  water  is  very  liable  to  undermine 
and  displace  the  tile.  We  usually  reap  our  best  and  most  abun 
dant  crops  directly  over  good  drains.  In  wet  seasons,  vegetation 
suffers  far  less  from  too  much  moisture  directly  over  good  drains; 
and  in  dry  seasons,  when  crops  are  suffering  extremely  for  want 
of  moisture,  vegetation  will  suffer  much  less  directly  over  a  good 
drain,  than  it  will  for  a  rod  on  either  side  of  it.  Let  very  dry 
knolls  be  well  drained  with  drains  five  or  six  feet  apart,  and  they 
will  retain  more  moisture  than  they  did  before  they  were  drained. 
Truly,  the  entire  surface  of  the  earth  which  is  devoted  to  agricul 
tural  purposes,  needs  to  be  underdrained. 
14 


320  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

441.  Drains  should  never  intersect  at  right  angles.  If  they 
are  made  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  the  one  that  intersects 
with  a  larger  one  should  be  dug  in  a  circle  for  a  few  feet  from 
the  main  drain.  Tile  should  be  manufactured  expressly  for 
receiving  side  drains.  They  are  commonly  made  with  a  hole  in 
one  side  of  a  tile.  But  the  correct  way  is,  to  have  a  large  tile 
made  like  a  tree,  with  a  large  limb  on  one  side  of  it,  which  should 
stand  at  about  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees  with  the  main  tile ; 
or  a  crotched  tile  placed  at  the  junction  would  subserve  a  good 
purpose.  (See  Par.  438.) 

DITCHING   WITH    MACHINES. 

442..  There  have  been  several  kinds  of  ditching  machines  in 
vented  and  put  into  successful  operation  in  some  localities.  But 
where  there  is  much  hard-pan,  or  many  stones  or  bowlders,  large 
and  small,  firmly  imbedded  in  the  subsoil,  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  accomplish  much  with  any  that  have  as  yet  been  invented. 
When  the  subsoil  can  be  nearly  all  spaded,  some  ditching  ma 
chines  operate  very  satisfactorily.  The  best  ditching  machine 
with  which  I  am  acquainted  is  drawn  by  two  horses,  one  walking 
on  each  side  of  the  ditch,  having  a  small  plow  to  loosen  the  earth, 
with  a  system  of  revolving  spades  to  bring  up  the  earth ;  and  when 
each  spade  stands  in  a  perpendicular  position,  the  earth  drops 
clown,  and  slides  or  rolls  off  on  each  side  of  the  ditch.  After 
such  a  machine  has  accomplished  all  it  can  perform,  in  most 
places  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  good  practical  ditcher  to  grade 
the  bottom  of  a  true  inclination.  For  such  a  machine  the  ground 
must  be  free  from  stone. 

443.  In  J.  J.  Thomas'  Farm  Implements,  page  139,  is  a  cut 
of  a  draining  plow  which  is  said  to  operate  very  successfully, 
cutting  the  ditch  and  laying  the  tile  at  one  operation.  But  the 
cost  for  ordinary  farmers  is  too  great ;  and  besides,  it  would  not 
operate  where  there  are  many  stone  in  the  subsoil.  And,  more 
than  all  else,  the  tile  when  strung  on  a  rope  would  be  liable  to 
be  left  many  times  in  such  a  position  that  when  the  ground  came 
to  settle  down  some  of  the  ends  would  settle  by  each  other. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PLOWS   AND    PLOWING. 

"  Speed  the  plow  !    Speed  the  plow  I 

O'er  the  fields  away  ; 
And  turn  the  furrows  up  and  down 
All  the  summer's  day."— N.  STONE. 

444.  OUR  country  is  full  of  ill-shapen,  clumsy,  awkward,  and 
almost  worthless  implements,  which  pass  for  plows,  in  the  manu 
facture  of  which  nearly  every  correct  principle  in  mechanics  has 
been  set  at  naught.     But  while  there   are  so   many  plows  of  an 
exceptionable  form  and  character,  it  is  very  gratifying  to  know 
that  there  are  scores  of  them  which  have  been  manufactured 
according  to  the  most  philosophical  and  correct  mechanical  prin 
ciples  ;  and  many  of  them  have  been  brought  to  so  good  a  degree  m 
of  perfection  that  it  is  impossible  to  point  out  a  single  imperfec 
tion  in  any  part  of  them.     The  common  plow,  because  of  its  great 
efficiency,  and  almost  universal  application  in  the  thorough  pul 
verization  of  the  soil,  is  the  implement  on  which  common  farmers 
must  almost  entirely  rely;   therefore,  to  aid  the  young  farmer 
in  the  proper  selection  of  plows,  I  will  endeavor  to  point  out  some 
of  the  defects  and  imperfections  which  are  too  commonly  met 
with  in  the  manufacture  of  plows. 

M 

DEFECTIVE    PLOWS. 

445.  A  very  heavy  plow  is  objectionable  for  a  single  team, 
because  it  increases  the  draught  of  the  team  ;  and  a  light  or  indo 
lent  plowman  will  not  perform  as  good  work  with  it  as  if  it  were 
lighter ;  because  in  one  instance  they  are  not  able  to  handle  it, 
and  in  the  other  they  will  not.      Another  very  jrreat  defect  in  our 

(USll 


322  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

common  country  plows  is,  there  is  not  a  sufficient  dip  of  the  point 
below  the  sole  of  the  plow,  or  the  bottom  of  the  landside.  (See 
Par.  449.)  Another  defect  is,  a  little  short  stub  of  a  mole-board. 
Another  is,  the  wing  of  the  share  is  too  narrow,  and  rises  very 
abruptly  from  the  entering  edge.  Another  very  great  fault  or 
imperfection  is,  a  very  short,  low  standard,  having  an  acute  edge, 
and  connected  with  the  beam  at  an  acute  angle,  by  which  every 
sod  and  straw  is  sure  to  ciog  it.  Another  defect  is,  the  point  of 
the  share  is  not  half  as  far  forward  of  the  throat  of  the  plow  as  it 
should  be.  The  throat  of  a  plow  is  the  space  beneath  the  beam, 
just  forward  of  the  junction  of  the  standard  and  the  beam. 
Another  defect  in  the  manufacture  of  common  plows  is,  the  han 
dles  do  not  extend  far  enough  behind  the  plow,  but  stand  so 
straight  up  and  down  that  the  plowman  too  often  stubs  his  toes 
against  the  plow ;  and  he  cannot  handle  it,  because  it  is  too  near 
his  feet.  Another  defect  is,  the  handles  are  too  high ;  and  the 
left  handle  stands  too  much  behind  the  plow. 

WHICH    IS    THE    BEST    PLOW? 

446.  Many  farmers  are  often  puzzled,  and  are  in  great  doubt 
to  know  which  is  the  best  plow  for  them  to  purchase.  A  joiner 
might  with  the  same  propriety  ask,  "What  plane  shall  I  purchase, 
as  the  best  for  every  kind  of  planing.  For  plowing  some  kinds 
of  soils  a  certain  kind  of  plows  will  operate  in  the  most  satisfac 
tory  manner,  while  on  a  different  soil  those  very  plows  will  not  ope 
rate  with  any  degree  of  satisfaction.  Many  plows  will  work  well  in 
plowing  stubble  ground,  and  in  cross-plowing,  which  would  be 
almost  worthless  for  plowing  sod  ground.  One  farmer  will  laud 
a  certain  kind  of  plows,  and  pronounce  them  the  very  best  for 
plowing  sod ;  while  his  neighbor,  just  on  the  other  side  of  the 
fence,  and  in  the  same  kind  of  soil,  with  the  same  kind  of  plows, 
does  his  work  intolerably  bad.  The  first  one  mentioned  plows 
just  deep  enough  for  the  plow  to  operate  as  well  as  possible  ; 
while  his  neighbor,  having  adjusted  his  plow  to  run  a  little  too 
deep  for  the  shape  of  the  mold-board  to  turn  the  furrow-slice 
well,  is  entirely  unable  to  plow  in  a  workmanlike  manner.  Hun- 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  323 

dreds  and  thousands  of  plows  are  now  manufactured,  which  will 
operate  as  well  as  any  man  can  desire,  while  they  cut  a  furrow 
only  four  or  five  inches  deep.  But  when  they  are  put  into  the 
soil  seven,  eight,  or  nine  inches  in  depth,  the  draught  is  unac 
countably  hard,  and  all  the  strength  of  a  strong  plowman  is 
necessary  to  hold  them ;  and  even  then  they  will  not  operate 
well.  Some  plows  have  such  a  peculiar  shape  that  an  increased 
depth  of  the  furrow  only  one  inch  will  so  affect  their  operation  as 
to  make  them  work  decidedly  bad. 

447.  At  a  plowing  match  of  the  New  York  State  Agricul 
tural  Society  in  1856,  there  were  two  steel  plows  entered,  which 
were  made  as  nearly  alike  as  two  plows  could  be  made.     The 
plowing  done  by  one  of  them  was  done  most  neatly,  while  the 
other  performed  intolerably  bad.     The  teams  and  plowmen  were 
good,  and  the  soil  where  both  plowed  exactly  alike.     One  plow 
cut  just  six  inches  deep  and  eleven  inches  wide  ;  while  the  other 
cut  from  eight  to  nine  inches  deep  and  from  ten  to  eleven  wide, 
and  left  the  furrow-slices  all  standing  on  the  edge,  to  the  great 
chagrin  and  mortification  of  both  the  manufacturer  and  the  plow 
man. 

448.  This  showed  very  conclusively,  that  plows  for  deep  and 
for  shallow  plowing  must  be  of  a  little  different  form  to  operate 
well.     A  plow  that  works  well  for  plowing  deep,  may  cut  a  shal 
low  furrow  well ;   but  a  plow  may  cut  a  shallow  furrow  well  and 
will  not  a  deep  one,  and  turn  it  well. 

HOW    TO    SELECT   A    GOOD    PLOW 

449.  In  selecting  a  plow  for  every  kind  of  plowing,  the  surest 
and  best  way  is,  to  purchase  it  on  trial,  and  not  take  it  because 
A  or   B  pronounces  it  "  the  plow  that  beats  the  world"     Perhaps 
your  manner  of  adjusting  a  plow  and  of  plowing,  and  your  soil, 
are  all  so  very  different  from  his  who  pronounces  that  kind  of 
plow  a  most  complete  implement  in  every  respect,  that  you  can 
not  possibly  make  it  operate  at  all  satisfactorily.     Such  a  plow 
no  man  desires  to  purchase  ;  and,  as  different  plows  are  calculated 


324  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

for  plowing  different  kinds  of  soil,  and  for  cutting  a  furrow  of  a 
given  depth,  it  is  always  best  after  selecting  a  plow,  the  various 
parts  of  which  are  as  nearly  perfect  as  possible,  to  purchase  it  on 
trial.  "When  the  first  cast-iron  plows  were  manufactured,  the 
stand  was  made  very  low,  and  the  mold-board  also  was  very  low. 
For  plowing  three  or  four  inches  deep  they  operated  very  well, — 
as  most  plows  will  which  have  a  low  standard  and  low  mold- 
board,  when  turning  only  a  very  shallow  furrow.  But  most 
farmers  have  learned  that  mines  of  untold  wealth  lie  just  beneath 
this  thin  stratum  of  super  soil,  which  our  ancestors  merely 
scratched  over  with  these  imperfectly  constructed  plows ;  and 
that  when  they  attempt  to  bring  it  up  with  such  plows,  they  need 
more  team  to  draw  such  imperfectly-shaped  implements,  when 
they  are  driven  an  inch  or  two  deeper  than  they  were  cal 
culated  to  run  ;  and  that  they  do  not  turn  the  furrow-slice  well, 
but  shove  it  off,  and  turn  a  portion  of  it  over,  while  the  greater 
part  is  merely  set  on  one  edge,  ready  to  fall  back  into  the  furrow. 
With  the  foregoing  considerations,  we  will  attend  to 

THE   POINTS    OB    CHARACTERISTICS    OF    A    GOOD    PLOW. 

450.  A  good  plow  is  one  the  shape  of  which  is  such,  that  the 
draft  will  be  as  light  as  possible  /  and  will  turn  a  furrow-slice  well, 
whether  the  furrow  is  four  or  eight  inches  deep ;  and  will  main 
tain  easily  a  uniform  depth  of  furrow  ;  and  will  hold  easy,  with 
out  much  exertion  of  the  plowman ;  and  which  will  glide  along 
as  smoothly  as  a  goose  glides  over  the  gentle-rolling  waves  of  a 
lake.  The  mold-board  should  be  rather  long,  and  so  high  that 
the  furrow-slice  will  not  be  constantly  falling  over  it  into  the 
plow  and  furrow ;  and  the  plow  should  be  several  inches  nar 
rower  at  the  sole  than  it  is  at  the  hind  end  of  the  mold-board  at 
the  top  of  it ;  and  the  mold-board  should  have  a  good  twist  at  the 
hind  end ;  and  the  standard  should  be  of  a  good  height ;  and  the 
throat  open  and  circular,  so  that  every  little  sod  or  bunch  of 
manure  will  not  clog  the  plow  ;  and  the  plow  should  be  of  a  good 
length  from  the  end  of  the  point  to  the  middle  of  the  throat  or 
standard  ;  and  should  not  rise  too  much  in  a  short  distance  ;  and 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  325 

the  point  and"  wing  of  the  share  should  be  in  such  a  position — • 
"lying  down  flat,"  as  common  plowmen  express  it — that  they 
will  enter  the  earth  several  inches,  straight  in,  before  it  raises  the 
furrow-slice  any.  "When  the  furrow-slice  must  begin  to  rise  as 
soon  as  the  wing  of  the  share  begins  to  enter  the  earth,  and  must 
rise  more  and  more,  until  it  reaches  the  mold-board,  the  draft  of 
that  plow  will  be  full  one-third  greater  than  it  would  be  if  the 
wing  of  the  share  were  very  wide,  and  the  surface  of  it  for  two 
or  more  inches  almost  horizontal.  When  the  share  of  a  plow 
can  enter  two  or  three  inches,  so  as  to  cut  the  furrow-slice  loose 
before  it  begins  to  rise,  it  requires  but  little  force  to  raise  the  fur 
row-slice  and  turn  it  over.  The  wing  of  the  share  should  extend 
beyond  the  sole  of  the  plow  never  less  than  three  inches ;  and 
farther  than  this,  as  the  size  of  the  plow  increases,  in  order  to 
cut  loose  the  furrow-slice  so  that  it  will  turn  over  more  readily. 
When  the  wing  of  the  share  extends  but  little  beyond  the  sole 
of  the  plow,  the  furrow-slice  is  not  cut  loose  ;  and  it  is  far  more 
inclined  to  fall  back  into  the  furrow  than  if  it  were  cutv  loose  on 
the  bottom.  The  wing  should  always  be  "  cold  chilled  " — hard 
ened — on  the  under  side,  and  should  be  so  thin  that  it  will  wear 
off  as  fast  on  the  upper  side  as  it  does  on  the  under  side.  When 
the  wing  of  the  share  is  half  an  inch  thick,  and  chilled  or  not,  it 
will  wear  off  the  fastest  on  the  under  side ;  and  will  affect  very 
greatly  the  running  of  the  plow.* 

451.  The  point  of  the  share  should  always  be  cold  chilled  on 
the  under  side  ;  and  if  the  soil  is  free  from  stone  it  should  be 
much  longer,  and  more  slender,  and  thinner  than  it  should  be  for 
plowing  ground  that  is  full  of  fast  stone.  When  there  are  no 
fast  stone  against  which  a  plow  may  be  broken,  the  point  of  the 
share  may  be  so  thin  that  the  upper  side  will  wear  away  as  fast 
as  the  under  side  wears  off.  When  plow  points  are  very  thick — 

*  Plow  points  and  any  other  iron  is  "  cold  chilled  "  by  running  the  liquid  iron  on  a 
smooth  piece  of  cold  iron,  which  is  placed  in  the  sand  when  the  pattern  is  molded.  Iron 
being  so  much  better  to  conduct  heat  than  wet  sand,  the  liquid  iron  is  cooled  so  rapidly 
that  it  is  rendered  as  hard  as  it  can  be  made.  It  costs  no  more  to  cold  chill  plow  points 
than  it  does  to  cast  them  without  cold  chilling.  And  one  plow  point  cold  chilled  will  out 
last  two,  and  sometimes  four — if  they  are  made  of  soft  iron — which  are  not  cold  chilled. 


326  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

up  and  down — the  under  side  wears  off  much  faster  than  the 
upper  side ;  consequently,  after  the  under  side  of  a  point  has 
become  worn  off  but  little,  there  is  a  tendency  of  the  plow  to  run 
up  out  of  the  ground.  For  plowing  ground  that  is  full  of  fast 
stone,  a  thicker  plow  point  is  necessary,  as  thin,  slender  ones  will 
break  too  frequently.  But  as  every  plowshare  should  be  made 
with  a  fin-cutter  to  separate  the  furrow-slice  from  the  unplowed 
land,  the  lower  part  of  the  fin  may  extend  almost  to  the  end  of  the 
point,  which  will  strengthen  the  point  very  much.  Plowshares 
should  always  be  made  with  fin-cutters,  because  they  lessen  the 
draft  of  a  plow ;  and  a  plow  works  much  better  with  them  than 
without  them. 

452.  Plow  points  as  well  as  plows,  should  always  be  ground  so 
smooth  before  using,  that  the  earth  will  not  adhere  to  them. 
Grind  any  kind  of  cast-iron  without  water,  as  a  grindstone  will 
grind  it  much  faster  than  it  will  when  wet. 

453.  When  the  young  farmer  has  found  a  style  of  plow  to 
suit  him,  when  he  is  about  to  purchase  a  new  one,  order  one 
made,   and  charge  the  manufacturers  to  make  the  mold-board 
of  old  iron,  such  as  old  stoves  and  old  plow-points ;    as  such  iron 
will  form  new  iron  which  will  wear  far  better  and  longer  than  if  it 
were  run  out  of  pig-iron.     Tell  them  to  endeavor  to  make  the 
mold-board  as  smooth  as  possible,  as  a  rough  mold-board  is  a  very 
disagreeable  thing  to  plow  with.     Charge  him  to  use  the  best  of 
timber  in  wooding  it ;  and  give  him  directions,  in  feet  and  inches, 
just  how  high  to  make  the  handles.     Have  the  left  handle  bent 
to  the  left  not  less  than  seven  inches  from  a  right  line,  so  that 
the  plowman  can  walk  in  the  furrow  without  the  left  handle  close 
to  his  side.     A  plowman  cannot  exert  as  much  strength  in  hold 
ing  a  plow,  when  the  handles  are  as  high,  or  even  higher  than 
his  hips,  and  when  the  left  handle  is  constantly  against  his  side. 
The  best  and  most  proper  height  for  plow  handles  is,  just  high 
enough  for  the  plowman,  when  he  stands  erect,  to  grasp  them 
with  his  hands  without  bending  his  body  forward,  and  having  his 
arms  straight.     When  the  handles  are  so  low  that  the  plowman 
can  just  grasp  them  without  bending  his  arms,  he  can  hold  a 


THE   YOUNG  FAKMER'S  MANUAL.  327 

plow  very  much  easier  and  better  than  he  possibly  can  when 
the  handles  are  so  high  that  he  is  obliged  to  bend  his  arms  when 
his  hands  are  hold  of  the  handles.  It  is  better  to  have  the  han 
dles  too  low  than  too  high.  Plow  handles  are  almost  always  too 
high  for  boys ; — and  this  is  one  good  reason  why  they  are  not 
able  to  plow  as  well  as  they  might  plow,  if  the  handles  were  of 
a  proper  height.  "When  the  handles  are  low,  a  plowman  can 
throw  his  whole  weight  and  strength  on  one  handle  ;  but  it  will  be 
very  difficult  and  inconvenient  for  him  to  do  so  when  the  handles 
are  as  high  as  his  ribs. 

454.  Steel  plows. — In  some  of  the  "Western  States,  and  in  some 
parts  of  the  Empire  State,  plows  are  manufactured  with  steel  mold- 
boards.  Steel  plows  cost  several  dollars  more  per  plow ;  but  for 
plowing  some  kinds  of  soil,  and  especially  very  light  soils,  they 
are  far  superior  to  the  best  cast-iron  plows,  because  the  surface 
of  the  mold-board  is  smoother,  and  admits  of  a  finer  polish ;  and 
in  some  kinds  of  very  light  soil,  where  the  dirt  will  not  slip  well 
when  a  cast-iron  plow  is  used,  a  steel  plow  will  perform  most 
complete  work.  For  heavy,  stiff  soils  steel  plows  are  little,  if  any, 
better  than  cast-iron  plows,  providing  they  are  made  of  old  iron, 
and  have  a  very  smooth  surface. 


ADJUSTING  THE  DRAFT  OF  THE  PLOW. 

455.  There  are  so  many  collateral  and  conditional  considera 
tions  which  influence  and  affect  the  proper  adjustment  of  the 
draft  of  the  plow,  that  it  seems  almost  an  impossibility  to  lay 
down  any  infallible  rules  to  enable  the  tyro  to  adjust  his  plow 
correctly.  When  a  plow  is  correctly  adjusted  it  will  glide  along 
with  a  steady  motion,  requiring  very  little  effort  of  the  plowman 
to  hold  it,  in  smooth  ground ;  and  it  will  not  seem  inclined  to 
run  too  much  on  the  point,  nor  on  the  heel.  When  the  draught 
is  improperly  adjusted,  the  plowman  is  often  obliged  to  exert  all 
his  strength  in  order  to  make  his  plow  work  at  all  satisfactorily. 
Sometimes  it  will  run  too  much  on  the  point ;  and  the  most  skill 
ful  plowmen  are  unable  to  adjust  it  so  that  it  will  glide  along 
14* 


328  THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

smoothly,  resting  equally  on  the  point  and  heel.  The  draft 
may  be  correctly  adjusted  for  plowing  one  kind  of  soil,  but  for 
plowing  a  different  soil — perhaps  not  eight  rods  distant — that 
adjustment  of  the  draft  would  be  very  incorrect.  Let  a  plow 
be  adjusted  correctly  for  plowing  stubble  ground  of  any  kind, 
where  the  soil  is  very  compact  and  hard,  and  it  will  be  found 
that  for  plowing  sod  of  the  same  kind  of  soil  the  plow  will  run 
too  deep.  The  soil  often  varies  very  much  in  the  same  field ; 
so  that  a  plow  in  one  part  of  the  field  runs  well,  and  in  another 
part,  with  the  same  adjustment,  runs  very  badly. 

456.  The  idea  which  the  expert  plowman  keeps  in  mind  is,  to 
have  the  plow  cut  a  furrow-slice  just  so  thick  and  just  so  wide, 
with  the  least  draft  to  the  team,  and  the  least  exertion  for  him 
self.  To  secure  this  end,  the  team  is  hitched  as  close  to  the  plow 
as  it  can  be  and  not  have  the  whippletrees  hit  their  heels  in  turn 
ing  at  the  corners.  As  the  length  of  traces  is  increased,  in  plow 
ing,  the  draft  increases.  Now  put  the  connecting  ring,  or  link, 
or  dial  clevis,  at  the  end  of  the  beam,  in  the  lowest  notch  ;  and 
if  it  will  not  run  deep  enough,  raise  it  another  notch  at  a  time, 
until  it  will  run  just  deep  enough.  Now  alter  the  clevis  from 
right  to  left,  or  from  left  to  right,  as  may  be  necessary,  until  the 
plow  will  cut  a  furrow-slice  just  wide  enough  to  turn  it  over  well. 
If  the  plow  crowds  the  furrow-slice  into  the  furrow,  without  turn 
ing  it  over,  it  shows  that  the  furrow-slice  is  too  narrow  for  its 
depth;  and  the  plow  must  be  adjusted  to  cut  a  wider  slice.  On 
the  contrary,  if  the  plowman  is  obliged  to  push  the  furrow-slice 
over  with  his  foot  constantly,  if  the  ground  he  is  plowing  be  very 
smooth  and  even,  it  shows  that  there  is  an  imperfection  or  fault 
somewhere.  Sometimes  by  adjusting  a  plow  to  run  an  inch 
deeper  it  will  do  very  bad  work.  (See  Par.  447.)  And  sometimes 
it  is  necessary  to  adjust  it  to  cut  a  little  wider,  or  a  little  nar 
rower,  before  it  will  turn  the  furrow-slice  as  well  as  it  ought  to 
be  done.  When  a  good  plow  is  correctly  adjusted,  it  will  glide 
along  where  there  are  no  obstructions,  without  being  held,  for 
many  rods.  When  a  plow  is  constantly  inclined  to  fall  over 
either  way,  and  the  plowman  must  hold  it  up  all  the  while  to  keep 


829 

it  erect,  there  is  either  an  imperfection  in  the  construction  of  the 
plow,  or  it  is  not  adjusted  correctly.  When  a  plow  "  tips  up 
lehind,"  and  does  not  keep  down  flat  on  its  sole,  or  when  it 
seems  to  run  all  on  the  point,  either  the  point  is  too  Hunt,  or  is 
worn  off  too  much  on  the  under  side,  or  there  is  not  "  dip  enough  " 
— pitching  of  the  point  downwards — to  the  point.  Sometimes  I 
have  found  that  a  plow  could  not  be  adjusted  by  the  clevis  so 
correctly  as  all  the  parts  were  arranged ;  and  that  by  shortening 
the  traces  or  draft  chain,  or  giving  them  a  little  more  length, 
it  would  run  like  another  plow.  When  a  plow  is  adjusted  to  run 
just  right,  as  the  point  wears  off  it  is  necessary  many  times  to 
give  a  little  more  length  to  the  draft  chains,  or  to  adjust  it  with 
the  clevis  to  run  a  little  deeper.  It  is  sometimes  impossible  to 
adjust  a  plow  to  run  just  right  with  the  style  of  clevis  which  is  on 
the  end  of  the  beam.  The  arrangement  ought  always  to  be  such 
that  the  draft  can  be  adjusted  half  an  inch  at  a  time,  either  up 
or  down,  or  to  the  right  or  left.  Then  if  the  beam  of  the  plow 
stands  as  it  should,  so  that  the  most  correct  line  of  draft  will  cut 
the  end  of  the  beam,  it  can  be  most  correctly  adjusted  in  a  few 
seconds. 

457.  To  make  a  plow  run  deeper,  raise  the  connecting  point  at 
the  end  of  the  beam  one  or  more  notches  higher  in  the  clevis ;  or 
lengthen  the  draft  chains.  To  make  it  run  more  shallow,  lower 
the  draft  a  notch  or  more  in  the  clevis ;  or  shorten  the  draft 
chains;  or,  which  should  never  be  done,  shorten  the  lack-hands 
or  hip-straps  of  the  harness.  To  make  a  plow  take  a  wider  fur 
row-slice,  carry  the  connecting  point  one  or  more  notches  in  the 
clevis  to  the  right  hand.  A  notch  or  two  to  the  left  hand  will 
make  a  plow  cut  a  narrower  furrow  slice.  Or,  which  is  seldom 
allowable,  a  plow  may  be  made  to  run  more  shallow  by  putting 
the  gauge- wheel  lower,  (see  Par.  459)  so  as  to  raise  the  end  of 
the  beam.  And  a  plow  may  be  made  to  cut  a  narrower  furrow: 
slice  by  carrying  the  handles  to  the  left  hand  ;  or  wider  by  carry 
ing  and  holding  them  to  the  right,  beyond  an  erect  position; 
neither  of  which  is  allowable,  except  for  a  temporary  purpose. 
(See  HOLDING  PLOW,  466.) 


330 

458.  I  always  go  with  my  plowmen  to  the  field  and  show  them 
how  to  adjust  the  plow  until  it  will  run  just  right ;  and  at  least 
once  every  day  I  take  hold  of  the  plow  with  my  own  hands,  to 
see  if  it  runs  correctly.     It  would  be  no  difficult  thing  to  tell,  if 
I  were  blindfolded,  when  a  plow  runs   correctly  or  incorrectly, 
and  how  to  adjust  it  properly  in  case  it  seemed  to  run  wrong. 
Any  good  plowman  can  tell  by  the  touch  when  a  plow  runs 
right. 

THE    GAUGE-WHEEL. 

459.  Were  the  soil  which  is  to  be  plowed  always  very  smooth 
on  the   surface,  and  of  a  uniform  depth,  and  of  equal  solidity, 
and  could  the  share  always  be  kept  as  sharp  as  when  first  put  on 
the  plow,  a  gauge-wheel  under  the  beam  to  regulate  the  depth  of 
the  furrow  would  be  not  only  a  useless  but  a  cumbersome  appen 
dage.     A  plow  should  always  be  adjusted  to  run  as  nearly  as 
may  be  the  desired  depth  without  the  wheel ;    and  if  the  plow 
is  inclined  to  run  a  little  too  deep  in  some  places,  while  most  of 
the  time  it  runs  just  deep  enough,  the  wheel  may  be  lowered  not 
more  than  half  an  inch  at  a  time,  until  it  appears  to  be  exactly 
right.     When  the  share  is  very  dull  and  the  soil  variable — being 
very  hard  in  some  places  and  mellow  and  light  in  others — it  is 
almost  impossible  to  plow  a  furrow  of  a  uniform  depth  without  a 
wheel.     In  such   a  case  a  plow  must  be  adjusted  to  run  deep, 
and  then  the  gauge-wheel  lowered  under  the  beam,  until  it  will 
make  the  plow  cut  a  furrow  of  a  uniform  depth.     But  such  an 
adjustment  of    a  plow   increases  the  draft    more  than  we    arc 
wont  to  suppose ;  and  makes  it  hold  harder ;  and  it  does  not,  as  a 
general  thing,  run  as  well.     Take  off  that  dull  point  and  put  on 
one  that  is  fit  to  plow  with,  and  then  the  plow  will  operate  enough 
better  to  repay  the  expense  of  a  new  share. 

460.  A  gauge-wheel  for  general  purposes  should  never  be  less 
than  one  foot   in  diameter.      Very  small   gauge-wheels   never 
operate  as  well  as  wheels  of  a  larger  diameter,  unless  the  ground 
is  very  smooth.     When  the  ground  is  rather  rough,  small  wheels 
are  apt  to  strike  obstructions  in  such  a  manner  as  to  require  a 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  331 

much  greater  force  to  draw  the  plow  than  if  the  wheel  were, 
much  larger. 

461.  In  plowing  deep  with  a  double  team,  where  the  soil  waa 
variable  and  very  uneven,  we  have  found  two  gauge- wheels  to 
operate  very  advantageously  ;  one  under  the  beam,  and  one  over 
the  heel  of  the  plow,  fastened  to  the  side  of  the  beam.     The 
plow  is  adjusted  to  run  about  the  desired  depth,  and  then  the 
hindermost  gauge-wheel  is  attached  to  the  side  of  the  plow  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  allow  the  plow  to  enter  only  a  given  depth. 
In  plowing  over  knolls,  it  is  many  times  very  difficult  to  turn  the 
furrow-slice  well  without  this  wheel,  because  the  plow  will  run 
so  very  deep.     The  plow  should  not  be  adjusted  to  run  deep,  and 
then  the  wheel  lowered  under  the  beam,  to  make  it  run  more 
shallow  ;   because  that  would  increase  the  draft  of  the  plow  and 
make  it  hold  harder  ;  and  if  the  wheel  is  nearer  the  standard  of 
the  plow  than  it  is  the  end  of  the  beam,  the  plow  will  be  very 
much  inclined  to  fall  over  to  the  right.     In  plowing  a  field  where 
the  soil  is  so  light  and  mellow  in  some  places,  that  a  plow  would 
run  in  up  to  the  beam  if  it  were  adjusted  to  run  of  the  desired 
depth  through  the  hard   portions  of  the  field,  two  gauge-wheels 
are  very  necessary.     Although  very  many  farmers  denounce   a 
gauge-wheel  as  a  useless  appendage,  I  must  be  allowed  to  say 
that  /  know  a  plowman  can  plow  better,  as  a  general  rule,  with 
one,  and  sometimes  two  gauge-wheels,  than  he  can  without  them. 
Every  good  plowman  will  coincide  with  me  in  this  assertion. 

THE  COKRECT  ADJUSTMENT  OF  THE  COULTER 

462.  Of  a  plow  is  something  which  not  one  plowman  in  fifty 
understands.     My  manner  of  adjusting  the  coulter  is,  to  have 
the  lower  end  of  it  from  two  to  three  inches  above  and  forward 
of  the  plow  point,  and  standing  as  far  to  the  left  as  the  left  side 
of  the  end  of  the  plow  point.     The  coulter  works  best  when  it 
cuts  just  as  wide  as  the  plow  will  cut.     When  it  is  adjusted  to 
cut  a  half-inch  wider  or  narrower  than  the  plow  would  cut,  the 
plow  will  not  run  well,   and  will  hold  hard.      Most  plowmen 
adjust  the  coulter  as  shown  at  Fig.  140,  Par.  464,  with  the  end  of 


332  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

the  coulter  directly  over  the  left  corner  of  the  point.  But  in  plow 
ing  where  there  are  some  stone  in  the  soil,  it  will  be  found  that 
stones  will  throw  out  the  plow  much  oftener  when  the  coulter  is 
adjusted  as  in  the  figure,  than  they  will  if  it  is  adjusted  forward 
of  the  point  so  far  that  most  of  the  stone  will  pass  between  the 
end  of  the  coulter  and  the  point  of  the  plow,  when  they  will  not 
throw  the  plow  out.  And  I  am  fully  persuaded — and  my  expe 
rience  coincides  with  all  the  good  plowmen  with  whom  I  have 
ever  conversed  on  this  subject — that  when  the  blade  of  a  coulter 
is  of  a  good  length,  and  sharp,  and  of  the  form  shown  by  the 
next  figure,  and  stands  about  as  slanting  as  shown  in  the  figure, 
with  the  point  from  two  to  three  or  four  inches  forward  of  the 
plow  point,  it  will  work  better  than  it  will  in  any  other  position. 
It  requires  but  little  force  to  draw  a  sharp  coulter  through  the 
sod,  and  when  the  blade  of  it  is  made  of  the  form  shown  in  the 
figure,  common  sense  teaches  us,  that  if  it  stands  slanting — as  a 
knife  for  ripping — it  will  clog  less,  and  lessen  the  draft  of  the 
plow.  Always  keep  the  coulter  sharp-pointed,  and  the  edge  sharp. 
464.  Fig.  140  represents  a  very  useful  instrument  for  prevent 
ing  weeds,  manure,  grass,  &c.,  from  clogging  a  plow.  It  was 
invented  by  Mr.  E.  C.  Bills,  Perry,  Wyoming  co.,  N.  Y.  It 
consists  of  a  corrugated  conical  cylinder,  attached  to  the  coulter, 
as  represented  in  the  figure,  which  turns  freely  either  way.  The 
bearing  of  the  lower  end  of  the  cylinder  plays  in  a  hole  in  the 
front  side  of  the  coulter,  and  the  upper  end  plays  in  a  hole  in  a 
clasp,  which  is  fastened  to  the  coulter  by  means  of  a  set-screw. 
When  straw,  or  clover,  or  manure,  comes  in  contact  with  the 
coulter,  it  slides  up  against  the  cylinder ;  and  as  it  is  free  to  turn, 
as  one  side  of  such  materials  will  usually  draw  more  than  the  other, 
the  cylinder  revolves  and  carries  it  all  on  one  side  of  the  plow, 
and  thus  keeps  the  coulter  clear.  With  such  a  contrivance  a 
plow  will  seldom  clog. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  333 

FIG.  140. 


BILLS'  PATENT  COTJLTEK-CLEABEB. 

PLOWING   TECHNICALITIES. 

465.  A  furrow  is  the  trench  or  channel  made  by  the  plow 
when  it  is  drawn  through  the  soil ;  and  it  is  said  to  be  wide,  or 
narrow — deep,  or  shallow.  The  furrow-slice  is  the  strip  of  soil 
which  the  plow  separates  and  turns  away  from  the  unplowed  soil 
when  making  a  furrow  ;  and  it  may  be  wide,  or  narrow — thick,  or 


334 

thin.  A  lack-furrow  is  two  furrow-slices  turned  towards  each 
other  so  that  their  edges  will  meet ;  or,  one  may  overlay  or  lap 
on  the  other.  A  dead  furrow,  middle  furrow,  or  open  furrow, 
which  are  only  different  names  for  the  same  thing,  is  the  channel 
that  is  left  when  a  land  is  finished.  A  land  is  the  unplowed 
ground  between  two  back  furrows,  or  the  quantity  of  unplowed 
ground  which  a  plowman,  in  plowing,  goes  around,  when  he  turns 
about  in  the  opposite  direction  from  which  the  furrow-slice  is 
turned.  A  land  may  be  wide,  or  narrow.  A  ridge  embraces  a 
part  of  two  lands,  or  all  the  ground  from  one  middle  furrow  to 
the  other ;  while  a  land  extends  from  one  back  furrow  or  centre 
of  a  ridge  to  another.  A  headland  is  a  narrow  strip  of  ground 
at  the  ends  of  the  lands  on  which  the  team  turns  when  plowing. 
"When  a  team  goes  from  one  end  of  the  plowing  to  the  other,  it 
is  called  a  through.  "When  a  team  goes  to  the  other  end  of  the 
land  or  ridge,  and  returns  plowing  a  furrow,  it  is  called  a  lout  or 
a  round.  When  land  is  plowed  two  or  more  times  before  seed 
ing,  if  the  furrows  are  made  across  the  furrows  of  the  last  plow 
ing,  it  is  termed  cross-plowing.  When  a  furrow-slice  is  turned 
into  a  furrow,  and  the  edges  of  each  furrow-slice  just  touch  each 
other,  it  is  denominated  flat-plowing,  or  plowed  with  a  flat  fur 
row.  When  the  furrow-slices  lap  on  each  other,  it  is  called  plow 
ing  with  a  lap-furrow,  or  lap-plowing.  "When  plowing  is  per 
formed  with  a  Michigan  Sod  Plow,  with  which  a  narrow  furrow 
of  the  sod  two  or  three  inches  deep  is  rolled  up,  and  the  whole 
covered  with  well  pulverized  soil,  it  is  called  round-plowing. 
"When  a  common  plow  is  run  twice  in  a  place,  it  is  called  trench 
ing,  or  trench-plowing.  When  a  subsoil  plow  is  run  in  the  furrow 
of  a  common  plow,  it  is  called  subsoiling. 

HOLDING   PLOW. 

"  The  plow  with  ill-holding  goes  quickly  aside." — TUSSER. 

466.  After  the  plow  has  been  correctly  adjusted,  the  young 
faffmer,  if  he  would  make  a  skillful  and  complete  plowman,  must 
be  careful  to  observe  and  to  practise  the  following  rules  :  Always 
keep  the  plow  as  nearly  level  as  is  practicable.  Stand  up  straight 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  335 

between  the  handles,  and  never  fall  into  the  unworkmanlike 
practice  of  walking  two  or  three  feet  behind  the  handles.  Take 
a  firm  hold  of  the  handles,  and  make  the  arms  so  stiff,  if  it  is 
necessary,  that  the  handles  will  take  the  plowman  off  his  feet 
before  it  can  deviate  from  a  right  line.  If  a  stone  or  anything 
else  should  cant  the.  plow  from  its  erect  position,  with  a  quick 
jerk  with  one  hand  set  it  instantaneously  erect.  Keep  the  eye 
a  good  portion  of  the  time  on  the  furrow-slice,  to  see  if  it  is  not 
cut  too  wide,  and  to  see  if  it  all  seems  to  be  broken  up,  and 
whether  there  is  not  a  narrow  strip  which  remains  unbroken. 
Some  plowmen,  too  indolent  to  step  up  to  their  work,  will  sup 
port  themselves,  in  part,  by  the  handles,  and  will  roll  to  the  right 
and  left  as  a  huge  ship  does  in  a  storm,  carrying  the  handles  of 
the  plow  with  them,  until  the  plow  almost  loses  the  furrow-slice, 
or  cuts  one  so  wide  that  it  cannot  turn  it,  when  they  will  begin 
to  "  right  up."  Such  plowmen  always  make  crooked  furrows ; 
and  no  plowman  can  perform  a  job  neatly  who  does  not  cast  his 
eye  forward  of  the  team  and  plow,  and  endeavor  to  cut  straight 
furrows.  By  riding  on  the  handles  of  the  plow  from  an  indolent 
habit,  or  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  plow  from  running  too 
deep,  increases  the  draft  of  the  plow  always ;  because,  when  the 
handles  of  a  plow  are  long  and  the  plowman  rests  heavily  on 
them,  the  fulcrum  being  at  the  heel  of  the  landside,  and  the  weight 
at  the  end  of  the  beam  where  the  draft  is  downwards,  the  draft 
is  increased  as  much,  many  times,  as  it  would  be  if  a  number  of 
hundred  pounds  of  stone  were  carried  on  the  plow.  On  the  con 
trary,  when  a  plowman  walks  up  square  with  his  handles,  and 
instead  of  riding  on  them,  lifts  a  little,  and  at  the  same  time  leans 
a  little  forward,  he  will  diminish  the  draft  of  his  plow  from 
twenty  to  fifty  pounds,  and  at  the  same  time  plow  a  furrow  just 
as  deep  and  wide  as  he  who  indolently  rides  on  his  handles. 

467.  Many  a  good  plowman,  understanding  this  principle,  when 
the  committee  at  our  agricultural  fairs  and  plowing  matches  have 
been  testing  the  draft  of  his  plow  with  the  dynamometer,  has 
secured  the  first  prize  by  lifting  and  shoving  a  little  on  the  han 
dles,  instead  of  riding  on  them.  The  movements  of  a  good 


336 

plowman  must  be  as  quick  and  agile  as  a  weasel ;  and  if  his 
plow  deviates  to  the  right  or  left,  he  must  set  it  up  as  quickly  as 
it  turned  from  its  course.  A  slow-bellied,  indolent  Jonathan, 
who  always  desires  to  ride  through  the  world,  never  can  make  a 
complete  plowman. 

468.  In  breaking   up  the  prairies  of  our  Western  country, 
which  are  as  level  and  free  from  stone  and  other  obstructions  as 
a  barn  floor,  the  plow  being  drawn  by  three  or  four  yoke  of 
oxen  and  sustained  by  four  wheels,  with  a  seat  on  it — like  the 
devout  and  submissive  Paddy,  who  "  let  the  world  slide  along 
'  azy,'  and  jump  on  and  ride" — the  plowman  holds  his  plow  when 
riding  on  it.     But  let  a  plowman  adopt  any  such  arrangement  on 
our  compact,  stubborn,  and  stony  soils,  "where  our  good  plowmen 
do  not  know  half  of  the  time  whether  they  are  on  their  feet  or 
in  a  passive  state  between  the  heavens  and  the   earth,  and  he 
would  find  his  quiet  seat  disturbed  very  abruptly  so  frequently, 
that  he  would  choose  "  to  foot  it "  until  he   became  somewhat 
tired. 

BEGINNING   TO    PLOW. 

"  Clear  the  brown  path  to  meet  the  coulter's  gleam  ! 
The  plowman  comes,  behind  his  smoking  team  I 
Line  after  line,  along  the  verdant  sod, 
Marks  the  broad  acres  where  his  feet  have  trod. 
At  every  round  the  loosening  chains  resound, 
And  glittering  mold-boards  sleek  the  furrowed  ground." — GRAHAM. 

469.  The  principles  of  adjusting  and  of  holding  the  plow  being 
well   understood,  and  the  team  being  correctly  hitched  to  the 
plow  (see  Par.  456),  and  the  mold-board  being  well  polished,  so 
that  the  dirt  will  slip,  we  are  ready  to  start  the  plow.     Now,  then, 
it  is  not  desirable  to  have  huge  ridges  thrown  up  along  the  fence, 
nor  to  have  deep  furrows  there;  but  the  surface  should  be  kept 
as  smooth  there  as  in  any  other  part  of  the  field.      "Where  fields 
are  about  level,  it  is  best  to  plow  them  one  way  at  one  time,  and 
across  the  middle  furrows  at  the  next  plowing.      This  will  keep 
the  surface  of  the  ground  about  level  and  smooth.      In  plowing 
with  a  double  team  or  with  a  single  team,  the  plowman  must 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  337 

first  determine  how  wide  his  headland  (see  Par.  465)  must  be  in 
order  to  give  the  team  sufficient  room  to  turn  at  the  ends  of  the 
lands.  If  a  field  is  to  be  plowed  by  going  directly  around  the 
outside,  there  will  be  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  ahead  and  keep 
plowing  until  the  field  is  all  plowed.  But  when  a  field  is  to  be 
plowed  by  lands, — having  determined  which  way  to  plow  it,  run 
the  plow  along  say  ten,  or  any  number  of  feet  distant  from  the 
edges  of  the  field,  which  will  be  at  the  ends  of  the  furrows,  mak 
ing  a  shallow  mark — not  plowing  a  furrow — with  the  point  of  the 
plow.  Now  always  turn  out  the  plow  and  set  it  in  exactly  at 
these  marks.  Now  measure  off  a  strip  with  the  rod-pole  (see  Par. 
695)  on  both  sides  of  the  field,  just  as  wide  as  the  headland  strips. 
This  strip  entirely  around  the  field  must  be  left  to  be  plowed  last. 
Now  plow  a  back  furrow  on  the  farther  side  of  the  field,  leaving 
a  strip  as  wide  as  the  headland.  Commence  on  the  farther  side 
first,  so  that  the  team  will  not  trample  the  plowed  soil  in  going  to 
and  from  work.  Now  if  grain  is  to  be  sowed  by  hand,  (see 
SOWING  GRAIN  BY  HAND,  493,)  it  is  best  to  have  the  middle 
furrows  of  exactly  equal  distances  apart,  and  the  ridges  exactly  as 
far  apart  as  the  middle  furrows  are.  I  always  calculate  to  sow 
about  forty-two  feet  at  two  rounds.  Therefore,  measure  off  forty- 
two  feet  from  the  first  ridge,  and  turn  another  ridge,  as  straight 
as  a  line,  and  back-furrow  just  as  many  furrows  on  every  succeed 
ing  ridge  as  there  were  furrows  on  the  first  ridge  ;  and  commence 
to  turn  a  ridge  every  time  at  the  same  end  that  you  commenced 
at  when  the  first  ridge  was  turned.  If  a  plowman  commences  at 
one  end  in  striking  out  one  ridge,  and  at  the  other  end  of  the  field 
for  the  next  ridge,  and  plows  one  or  two  furrows  more  on  one 
ridge  than  he  does  on  another,  the  ridges  may  be  equidistant 
apart ;  but  the  middle  furrows  will  be  of  very  unequal  distances 
apart.  This  will  be  a  bad  arrangement  when  grain  is  sowed  by 
hand,  with  ridges  and  furrows  for  guides. 

470.  When  striking  out  a  land  or  a  ridge,  the  first  furrow 
always  requires  much  more  strength  of  team  to  turn  it  than  is 
required  after  one  furrow  has  been  turned.  And  the  draft  of  a 
plow  needs  a  different  adjustment  with  the  clevis,  usually,  to  run 


338  THE    YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

at  the  same  depth  in  striking  out  a  ridge,  and  in  plowing  after 
two  or  three  furrows  have  been  plowed.  Therefore,  if  a  team  is 
very  spirited  or  fractious,  and  disinclined  to  press  steadily  into 
the  yoke  or  collar, — which  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  with 
many  good  teams, — adjust  the  plow  to  cut  a  very  shallow  furrow, 
and  go  twice  in  one  place  until  the  team  will  work  steadily. 
Many  a  valuable  horse  has  been  balked,  and  "fooled,"  and  well- 
nigh  spoiled  for  service,  simply  because  this  precaution  was  not 
observed.  "When  a  team  has  lain  idle  for  a  long,  and  sometimes 
for  only  a  short  period  of  time,  and  they  are  hitched  to  a  plow, 
and  it  is  put  in  the  soil  at  the  ordinary  depth,  their  necks  and 
shoulders  are  very  often  tender,  and  they  will  flinch  at  a  heavy 
draft.  Therefore  they  must  be  hitched  to  something,  and  made 
to  haul  it  about  until  they  will  not  flinch  when  drawing  a  plow 
when  it  runs  at  the  ordinary  depth. 

471.  In  order  to  strike  out  a  ridge  straight,  plant  not  less  than 
three  stakes  in  a  row ;  and  if  the  distance  is  over  twenty-five 
rods  there  ought  to  be  four  stakes.      Let  the  plowman  put  the 
lines  around  his  body,  and  keep  an  eye   on  the   stakes,  between 
the  horses,  and  have  the  lines  just  tight  enough  to  enable  him  to 
guide  his  team  by  turning  his  body  to  the  right   or  to  the  left. 
This  is  a  far  better  way  than  to  have  the  lines  on 'the  neck  and 
shoulders.     I  have  always  found,  that  with  the  lines  around  my 
body  I  could  strike  a  ridge  fifty  or  sixty  rods  long  as  straight  as 
a  line,  without  touching  my  lines ;    whereas,  if  they  were  about 
my  neck  I  could  not  do  it. 

472.  The  beauty  and  excellence  of  plowing  are,  to  keep  the  fur 
rows  as  straight  as  a  line,  and  of  a  uniform  depth.     He  who  can 
not  take  a  team  alone  and  strike  out  his  lands  and  finish  them, 
and  adjust  and  re-adjust  his  plow  to  suit  all  circumstances,  and 
perform  a  job  in  a  neat  manner,  cannot  expect  to  receive  the 
appellation  of  a  complete  plowman. 

473.  In  order  to  finish  a  land  neatly  when  plowing  sod  ground, 
the  plowman  must  make  calculations  to  leave  a  strip  of  sod  just 
as  wide  as  two  ordinary  furrow-slices.       Now  elevate  the  end  of 
the  plow-beam  by  lowering  the  gauge-wheel  so  that  the  plow  will 


339 

run  about  half  as  deep  as  usual ;  and  turn  half  of  this  strip  with 
the  team  going  up  the  slope,  if  the  ground  is  not  about  level.  In 
turning  the  last  furrow  let  the  team  go  down  the  slope,  because 
the  last  furrow  is  much  more  difficult  to  turn  than  any  other  ;  and 
it  is  less  difficult  to  turn  it  when  going  down  hill.  Remove  en 
tirely,  or  raise  the  gauge-wheel  higher  than  usual,  while  plowing 
the  last  furrow,  and  then  let  the  plow  run  along  once  or  twice  to 
break  up  the  soil  where  the  next  to  the  last  furrow  was  cut  shal 
low.  This  leaves  the  middle  furrow  full  of  mellow  earth,  instead 
of  leaving  a  space  about  two  feet  wide  with  little  or  no  super-soil 
on  it.  Having  finished  the  field  in  this  manner,  the  last  thing 
will  be, 

PLOWING    THE    HEADLANDS. 

474.  If  the  soil  is  about  level  and  smooth,  plow  the  headlands 
by  passing  round  and  round  the  field,  turning  the  furrows  inwards. 
If  the  soil  was  turned  away  from  the  fence  when  plowed  last, 
turn  it  towards  the  fence.     This  manner  of  plowing  headlands  is 
infinitely  better,  and  more  plowman-like,  than  it  is  to  plow  the 
headlands  in  a  land,  or  back-furrow,  which  is  the  common  prac 
tice.     If  a  strip  twenty  feet  wide  is  left  entirely  around  the  field, 
there  is  no  disadvantage  in  it.     It  is  as  important  to  keep  the 
surface  of  the  soil  smooth  along  the  margin  of  a  field  as  it  is  near 
the  middle  of  it. 

475.  Many  plowmen  will  insist  on  plowing  very  wide  back- 
furrows  and  lands,  and  will  plow  across  the  ends  of  the  lands. 
But  the  practice  is  by  no  means  so  good  a  one  as  it  is  to  leave 
a  wide  headland.     The  headlands  should  always  be  plowed  last ; 
because,  if  plowed  first  the  soil  in  many  places  will  be  trodden 
down  so  firmly  that  it  would  need  to  be  plowed  again  when  the 
field  is  finished. 

476.  Plowing  side-hills  and  throwing  the  furrows  down  hill 
year  after  year  is  not  a  good  practice,  because  every  plowing  re 
moves  the  soil  of  the  entire  field  down  the  slope  about  one  foot 
farther ;  and  on  the  lower  side  of  the  field  the  soil  would  be  piled 
up  in  a  huge  ridge,  while  there  would  be  in  a  few  years  a  wide 


340  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

strip  at  the  upper  side  of  the  field,  from  which  all  the  super-soil 
had  been  removed.  When  it  is  not  impracticable,  side-hills 
should  always  be  plowed  up  and  down  the  slope.  The  soil  will 
work  down  hill  sufficiently  fast  without  plowing  it  downwards. 

PLOWING   A   FIELD    BY    BEGINNING    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AND    TURN 
ING    THE    FURROWS    INWARDS. 

477.  Every  plowman  knows  that  when  a  field   is  plowed  by 
going  around  it  and  turning  the  furrows  outwards,  all  the  soil  is 
thrown  at  each  plowing  nearly  a  foot  towards  the  outsides  of  the 
field ;    and  if  a  field  is  plowed  in  this  way  many  times,  a  high 
ridge  is  formed  at  the  outside,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  field  the 
soil  is  all  thrown  outwards  so  far  that  a  large  excavation  is  made 
where  the  plowing  was  finished.      And,   furthermore,  when  a 
field  is  plowed  by  going  around  it  and  finishing  in  the  middle, 
there  is  always  a  dead-furrow  from  every  corner  of  the  field  to 
the  middle,  where  the  plowing  is  finished  ;  and,  beside  these  dead- 
furrows,  there  is  a  strip  of  plowed  ground  on  which  the  team  turns, 
which  often  becomes  so  much  trodden  as  to  injure  it  very  much^ 
especially  if  the  soil  be  of  a  clayey  nature,  and  is  a  little  too 
moist  when  the  plowing  is  performed.     But  by  commencing  to 
plow  in  the  middle  of  a  field,  and  by  turning  the  furrows  inwards, 
there  will  be  no  dead-furrows,  no  plowed  ground  trampled  down 
by  the  team  in  turning,  and  no  ridges  at  the  outsides  of  the  field  ; 
and  the  team  will  turn  on  unplowed  ground  until  the  field  is  fin 
ished.     Plowing  a  field  by  beginning  in  the  middle  is  the  neatest 
way  in  which  a  field  can  be  plowed.     The  only  difficulty  in  plow 
ing  a  field  by  beginning  in  the  middle  is,  to  get  started  correctly  ; 
and  if  the  plowman  has  a  little  geometrical  skill  he  will  find  no 
difficulty  in  plowing  a  field  of  almost  any  shape,  unless  it  is  some 
what  hilly,  and  have  every  side  finish  up  with  the  greatest  accu 
racy.     The  main  idea  to  be  kept  in  mind  is,  after  a  field  has  been 
plowed  by  commencing  on  the  outside  and  finishing  in  the  mid 
dle,  to  commence  in  the  middle   and  turn  each  furrow  inwards, 
with  the  same  precision  that  they  were  turned  outwards. 

478.  The  first  step,  then,  will  be,  to  find  the   middle.     This 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


341 


process  will  be  readily  understood  by  Fig.  141.  A  B  C  D  repre 
sents  the  outside  of  a  plot  of  ground,  to  be  plowed  in  the  form  of 
a  parallelogram.  At  E  E,  at  equal  distances  from  E  F,  E  G, 

FIG.  141. 


MODE   OP  PLOWING    A   SQTJARK   FIKLD    BY   COMMENCING    IN   THE   MIDDLE. 

and  E  H,  which  is  found  by  measuring  in  the  direction  of  the 
dotted  lines,  stick  a  stake  at  both  centres,  E  E.  Now,  as  it  is 
not  very  practicable  to  turn  a  plow  at  a  right  angle  when  it  is  in 
the  ground,  let  a  back-furrow  be  turned  from  each  corner  of  the 
field  to  A  E  B,  and  C  E  D,  and  from  E  to  E.  Now,  the  land  is 


342  THE  YOU^TG   FARMERS   MANUAL. 

laid  out,  and  the  plowman  has  only  to  keep  his  furrow-slices  of  a 
uniform  width  on  every  side,  in  order  to  have  the  field  finish 
alike  on  every  side.  If  he  is  careless  in  setting  in  his  plow, 
and  is  not  particular  at  each  corner  to  have  the  team  go  straight 
out,  and  takes  a  furrow-slice  in  one  place  a  little  too  wide  and 
in  another  place  too  narrow,  he  will  have  a  very  undesirable  job 
to  finish  the  plowing  up  ;  because,  at  one  place  it  may  be  finished, 
and  at  another  it  may  lack  many  feet  of  being  finished  to  the 
margin  of  the  field.  The  plow  should  be  set  in  and  come  out  at 
each  corner  with  the  greatest  precision.  It  will  not  hurt  a  plow 
man  to  exercise  his  geometrical  faculties  a  little  at  every  corner, 
by  measuring  the  width  of  each  furrow  slice  with  a  mechanical 
eye ;  and,  after  a  field  has  been  plowed  in  this  way,  every  one 
will  acknowledge  that  it  is  enough  better  to  "  pay  "  for  any 
apparent  extra  trouble  or  care  in  laying  out  the  work  and  in 
finishing  it.  By  plowing  in  this  manner  there  will  be  neither 
ridges  nor  dead-furrows,  which  is  very  desirable,  especially  where 
hoed  crops  are  to  be  planted ;  and  also,  when  a  field  is  to  be  pre 
pared  for  a  meadow,  the  entire  field  is  left  as  level  as  can  be 
desired. 

479.  Fig.  142  shows  the  manner  of  plowing  a  field  of  an  irreg 
ular  form  by  commencing  in  the  middle.  The  same  letters  in 
this  figure  refer  to  the  same  points  as  in  Fig.  141.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  point  E  is  found  by  measuring  from  the  outside  of 
the  field  G  H  F,  at  right  angles  to  each  side.  The  centre  K  is 
found  by  measuring  at  the  dotted  lines  N  L  M,  at  a  right  angle 
to  the  centre  of  the  field.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  point  to  set  a 
stake  at,  K,  is  in  a  line  with  E  M,  M  being  equidistant  from  D 
and  C.  Now,  turn  a  back-furrow  from  each  corner  of  the  field 
to  the  two  centres,  E  and  K,  and  also  from  E  to  K.  Now,  com 
mence  plowing  by  going  around  the  centre,  jE7,  and  be  very  par 
ticular,  in  commencing,  to  have  the  furrows  run  parallel  with  the 
outsides  of  the  field.  After  plowing  a  few  hours,  measure  from 
the  outsides  of  the  field  to  the  furrows  on  every  side,  and  if  the 
distances  from  the  last  furrow,  represented  by  the  dotted  lines 
0  0  O  0  O  0,  are  all  equal,  the  field  will  be  finished  alike  on 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


343 


every  side.  If  the  distances  are  unequal,  let  stakes  be  stuck  on 
every  side,  at  equal  distances  from  the  outsides  of  the  field,  and 
plow  up  to  those  stakes  on  every  side,  until  the  last  furrow  is 
exactly  parallel  to  the  outsides  of  the  field,  like  the  dotted  line 
at  0  0,  &c.  When  the  plowman  has  arrived  at  K  in  plowing, 

FIG.  142. 


M         T> 

MODE  OF  PLOWING  A  FIELD  OF  IBBKGULAB  FOEM  BY  COMMENCING  IN  THE  OENTBB. 

cut  off  just  the  point  of  the  unplowed  ground  across  the  end 
at  K.  After  plowing  a  few  furrows  across  the  end,  measure 
from  K  to  the  last  furrow  on  each  side,  and  if  the  distances  are 
equal,  "  speed  the  plow,"  and  you  will  come  out  square  on  every 
side. 

480.  The  first  field  that  I  ever  undertook  to  plow  in  this  way 
was  a  field  of  irregular  form.     But  by  following  the  directions 
here  laid  down,  the  field  finished  up  on  every  side  very  exactly. 
If  the  young  farmer  is  not  able  to  carry  these  directions  in  his 
mind,  let  him  take  them  to  the  field  with  him,  and  refer  to  the 
figure  as  he  measures. 

481.  In  order  to  determine  at  what  point  to  start  in  measur- 

15 


344  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

ing,  in  order  to  measure  on  a  line  at  a  right  angle  to  the  outsides 
or  margin  of  the  plot  to  be  plowed,  nail  two  narrow  strips  of 
thin  boards  together  at  a  right  angle,  and  place  them  on  a  car 
penter's  steel  square  on  a  high  stool  or  box,  or  on  three  stakes 
driven  in  the  ground,  and  place  one  arm  of  the  square  parallel 
with  the  margin  of  the  field,  and  if  the  other  points  to  the  centre, 
E  or  K,  as  the  station  may  be,  commence  measuring  from  that 
point.  In  about  half  an  hour  a  field  of  ordinary  size  can  be  laid 
out  and  all  the  stakes  stuck,  ready  for  the  plow. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HARROWS   AND   HARROWING-. 

"  A  harrow  to  dig  up  and  mellow  the  path, 
And  roller  to  smooth  it,  good  husbandry  hath." — ANON. 

482.  THE  styles  and/orms  of  common  harrows  are  so  numerous, 
and  all  good,  that  I  shall  here  give  illustrations  of  but  three  of 
them.     A  farmer  in  moderate  circumstances  does  not  feel  willing 
nor  able  to  pay  fifteen  or  twenty-five   dollars  for  a  common  har 
row,  which  could  be  afforded  for  less  than  half  that  sum.      It  is 
with  harrows  as  with  many  other  farm  implements :  there   are 
many  times  several  dollars  expended  in  fitting  them  up,  which  is 
of  no  practical  utility  whatever.      Common  farmers,  who  obtain 
every  dollar  and  dime  by  the  most  rigid  economy  and  hard-fisted 
industry,  expend  their  cash  somewhat  grudgingly  when  it  goes  to 
pay  for  redundant,  unnecessary  work  in  the  manufacture   of  im 
plements.      A  manufacturer  will  soon  use  up  $5.00  in  unneces 
sary  hammering  and  filing  and  polishing  portions  of  implements 
which  would  be  just  as  good,   in  every  respect,  if  they  were 
merely  coated  with  paint  or  coal  tar ;  and  the  same  implement, 
while  costing  much  less,  would  be  equally  good  and  durable. 

483.  Fig.  143  represents  a  triangular  hinged  harrow, — which  I 
have  used  for  fifteen  years,  and  it  is  good  still, — which  cost  me 
$7.25  ;  and  it  is  a  very  substantial  one.     Timber,  30  cts. ;  making, 
75  cts.;  26  teeth,  $4.00;  hinges,  $1.00;    draft  chains,  50   cts.; 
4  carriage-bolts,  15  cts. ;  painting,  30  cts. ; — total,  $7.00.      The 
timber  is  3x3,  of  the  best  of  white-oak.      The  two  centre-sticks 
are  six  feet  long,  and  the  forward  wings  are  six  feet.     The  hinder- 
most  wings  are  a  few  inches  shorter.    The  wing-pieces  are  thirteen 

(345) 


346 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


inches  apart.  The  slats  are  an  inch  thick,  four  inches  wide,  of 
the  toughest  timber,  and  driven  in  firmly,  with  the  joints  painted. 
The  forward  ends  of  the  wings  are  let  into  a  mortise,  with  a  good 
fit,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines,  and  lolled  with  carriage-bolts, 
which  may  be  obtained  at  the  hardware  stores.  The  teeth  are 

FIG.  143. 


1UANGU..4K   HARROW, 


less  than  an  inch  square,  and  three  inches  apart,  from  centre  to 
centre.  If  it  is  desirable  to  have  a  wider  harrow,  make  the  wings 
longer.  The  hinges  are  put  through  the  centre-pieces,  which  are 
placed  close  together  to  prevent  the  middle  of  the  harrow  rising. 
One  of  the  hinge-hooks  has  a  spring-key  in  it,  and  the  harrow 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  347 

is  readily  taken  apart.  The  draft-chains  need  not  be  heavy 
chains ;  and  one  end  of  them  is  attached  to  an  eye-bolt,  which 
is  put  through  the  centre-pieces. 

484.  Harrows  similar  to  this  are  manufactured  all  over  the 
country,  with  iron  bars  bolted  across  all  the  sticks  where  the  slats 
are  placed,  with  hinges  at  one  end  of  them.      But  that  mode  of 
hinges  increases  the  expense,  and  they  are  not  as  strong  as  they 
would  be  if  made  in  this  manner,  because  in  this  style  the  draft 
is  on  the  centre-pieces,  while  the  hinges  are  put  through  them ; 
whereas,  in  the  common  style  the  draft  is  at  the  hinges,  which  are 
bolted  with  small  bolts  to  the  wood.     A  carriage-bolt  should  be 
put  through  the  pieces  at  every  tooth,  to  keep  them  from  split 
ting. 

485.  In  order  to  get  the  wings  at  the  proper  angle,  strike  two 
chalk-lines  on  the  floor  at  a  right  angle,  and  measure  three  feet 
one  way  from  the  corner,  and  two  feet  and  one  inch  on  the  other 
line,  and  strike  a  diagonal  line,  which  will  give  the  desired  angle. 

486.  Always  have  the  teeth  extend  below  the  wood  not  less 
than  eight  inches,  and  have  them  even  on  the  points.      The 
longer  they  are  the  less  liable  they  are  to  clog.      A  harrow 
should  be  supported  on  the  points  of  the  teeth,  and  not  by  the 
frame. 

487.  Fig.  144  represents  one  of  the  very  best  styles  of  harrows 
for  pulverizing  any  kind  of  soil, 

and  especially  sod  ground.  It 
will  pulverize  sod  ground  more 
with  one  harrowing  than  two 
harrowings  with  a  common  har 
row.  It  will  not  clog,  nor  tear 

up  manure  that  has  been  plowed  COULTER  HARROW. 

under,  nor  turn  over  sods,  even  when  it  is  drawn  across  them.  It 
draws  easier  than  a  common  harrow,  and  I  know  it  to  be  a  most 
useful  implement.  It  is  manufactured  by  Pease  and  Egglestone, 
Albany,  N.  Y. 

488.  The  frame  of  it  is  made  similar  to  a  common  harrow,  of 
timber  two  by  six  inches  square.      The  coulter  teeth  c  are  thin 


348  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

plates  of  iron  inclining  forward,  or  turned  up  like  sleigh  runners, 
so  as  to  prevent  their  clogging.  The  mold-board,  M,  and  stand 
ard  between  c  and  M,  are  all  cast  in  one  piece,  and  the  edge  of 
c  is  cold  chilled  to  make  it  wear  well ;  and  they  are  bolted  to  the 
wood  with  carriage-bolts.  For  preparing  stiff  soils  for  hoed  crops, 
or  for  any  other  crop,  such  a  harrow  is  worth  two  ordinary  har 
rows.  J.  J.  Thomas  says  of  this  harrow :  "  Every  farmer  who 
cultivates  a  farm  of  any  considerable  size,  especially  if  the  soil 
be  strong  and  adhesive,  would  certainly  pay  for  this  harrow  in 
one  year,  by  the  work  it  would  enable  him  to  perform.  Nothing 
can  exceed  it  in  preparing  inverted  sod  for  corn,  or  for  any  other 
crop.  It  is  one  of  the  best  inventions  of  late  years  for  the  farmer." 

HERALD  AND  TOMPKINS'  PATENT  IRON  HARROW. 

489.  Fig.  145  represents  an  iron  harrow,  which  promises  event 
ually  to  supersede  and  supplant  every  other  form 
of  tooth  harrows.  Messrs.  Herald  &  Tompkins, 
Trumansburg,  Tompkins  Co.,  N.  Y.,  are  the 
manufacturers  and  patentees.  It  has  recently 
been  patented,  and  is  a  genuine  implement. 
They  manufacture  of  various  sizes,  and  the  prices 
vary  from  $5.00  to  $22.00,  according  to  the 
number  and  size  of  teeth,  and  weight  of  harrow. 
The  teeth  are  bolt  teeth,  with  a  nut  and  screw 
on  the  upper  end.  The  frame  is  made  of  round  rods  of  iron, 
which  cross  each  other  at  the  angle  shown  in  the  figure,  and  are 
held  in  their  proper  places  by  two  small  collars  of  cast-iron,  which 
have  grooves  in  them  to  fit  the  round  rods,  and  a  hole  through 
the  centre  of  each  collar  for  the  tooth.  Three-quarter-inch  round 
rods  are  used  for  the  largest  size.  The  frames  are  made  in  two 
parts,  hinged  together  as  shown  by  the  figure.  The  above  cut 
is  a  perspective  view  of  one  tooth,  and  the  collars,  or  flanges, 
as  they  clasp  the  rods.  One  flange  is  placed  beneath  the  rods 
and  one  above  them,  when  the  tooth  is  put  in  its  place,  and  screwed 
up  firmly. 

The  chief  advantages  of  this  harrow  are, — it  is  as  durable  as 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 
FlG.   145. 


HERALD   AXD    TOMPKIXS'    PATENT  IROX  HARROW. 

iron  it  is  less  liable  to  clog  than  harrows  having  wooden  frames ; 
it  is  more  substantial  than  wooden-frame  harrows ;  the  teeth  can 
be  taken  out,  and  sharpened,  and  replaced,  much  more  readily ; 
and  it  is  a  neat,  farmer-like  implement. 

HABROWING. 

490.  Sod  ground  should  always  be  harrowed  the  same  way 
that  it  was  plowed,  so  as  not  to  tear  up  any  sods,  unless  the 
coulter  harrow  is  used,  when  the  harrow  may  be  run  directly 
across  the  furrows,  or  diagonally.  In  harrowing  stubble  that  has 
just  been  plowed,  harrow  across  the  middle  furrows  the  first  time, 
in  order  to  level  the  ridges,  and  fill  up  the  middle  furrows  before 
the  grain  is  sowed  or  drilled  in.  Some  farmers  never  harrow 
their  land  before  sowing,  be  it  ever  so  uneven  and  rough.  But 
I  never  feel  that  grain  is  well  put  in  if  the  soil  is  not  harrowed 


350  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

previous  to  its  receiving  the  seed.  If  the  teeth  clog,  they  should 
be  unclogged  at  once.  Harrow  teeth  will  clog  much  sooner  in  har 
rowing  damp  or  wet  soil  than  they  will  when  it  is  rather  dry. 

491.  When  beginners  are  learning  to  harrow,  I  always  walk 
with  them,  and  tell  them  to  keep  their  eye  on  the  fore  feet  of  the 
animal  that  is  nearest  the  harrowed  ground,  and  keep  him  just 
so  far  from  it.  If  he  keeps  his  eye  on  the  harrow  most  of  the 
time,  he  will  be  very  liable  to  have  his  team  on  the  harrowed 
ground,  or  too  far  away  from  it.  Always  allow  the  harrow  to 
run  one  or  two  teeth  on  the  harrowed  ground,  so  as  not  to  make 
balks.  One  can  harrow  faster  to  go  directly  back  and  forth  than 
he  can  to  go  round  a  land.  Always  harrow  the  borders  of  the 
field  thoroughly.  I  seldom  harrow  a  field  but  twice, — once  be 
fore  and  once  after  sowing,  after  which  the  ground  is  rolled. 


OHAPTEK  VIII. 

SOWING    GRAIN    BY    HAND. 

"  Scatter  ye  seeds,  and  flowers  will  spring  I 

Strew  them  at  broadcast  o'er  hill  and  glen  : 
Sow  in  your  garden,  and  time  will  bring 
Bright  flowers  with  seeds  to  scatter  again."— ANON. 

492.  NOT  every  one  is  fit  to  sow  grain  broadcast,  and  not  one 
man  in  a  score  is  able  to  scatter  seed  with  his  hands  as  evenly  as 
it  should  be,  and  no  man  can  sow  grain  as  evenly  as  a  good 
drill,  or  a  good  seed-sower.     But  in  some  instances  a  drill  cannot 
be  used  ;  and  sometimes  a  seed  drill  is  not  at  hand  ;   and  some 
times  scores  of  very  good  farmers  have  imbibed  the  erroneous 
notion  that,  all  things  considered,  it  is  better  to  sow  broadcast  and 
harrow  in  the  seed,  than  it  is  to  put  it  in  with  a  drill.     Some 
men  may  sow  grain  as  long  as  they  live,  and  they  will  throw  it 
in  ridges  or  streaks.     It  is  very  important  to  know  how  to  sow, 
even  if  a  drill  is  used  for  putting  in  most  of  the  grain  on  a  farm. 

493.  There  are  two  modes  of  sowing  by  hand  broadcast ;  one 
is  by  ridges  and  furrows  (see  Par.  469),  and  the  other  is  by  stakes. 
A  person  can  sow  much  more  correctly  by  furrows  and  ridges, 
than  he  can  by  stakes,  and  can  sow  much  faster,  also,  as  it  con 
sumes  much  time  in  moving  the  stakes. 

494.  A  good-sized  bag,  with  one  corner  of  the  bottom  tied  to 
the  mouth  of  it,  hung  over  the  shoulder,  is  about  the  most  con 
venient  thing  to  sow  out  of.     Have  grain  at  each  end  of  the  field, 
or  if  the  field  is  not  more  than  forty  rods  long,  have  the  grain  in 
the  middle  of  it.     Now,  measure  off  half  an*  acre,  and  calculate 
about  how  much  you  desire  to  sow  on  an  acre.     Sow  handfuls  of 
a  given  size  while  sowing  the  half  acre,  and  if  the  proportion 

15*  (351) 


352  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

seems  to  be  about  right  per  acre,  endeavor  to  take  about  so  much 
at  every  handful. 

495.  Always  throw  grain  as  the  opposite  foot  rises.     If  the 
foot  on  the  same  side  with  the  hand  that  sows,  rises  as  the  hand 
throws  the  grain,  a  man  will  find  it  much  more  difficult  to  go  for 
ward.     But  if  the  opposite  foot  rises  with  the  forward  motion  of 
the  hand,  the  sower  will  move  much  easier  than  if  he  raises  the 
foot  on  the  same  side  of  the  hand  that  sows. 

496.  In  sowing,  either  by  furrows  or  stakes,  always  throw  the 
grain  from  the  margin  of  the  field,  because  one  can  sow  much 
more  evenly  up  to  the  margin  by  throwing  away  from  it,  than  he 
can  to  throw  towards  it.     Let  the  grain  slip  off  the  ends  of  the 
fingers,  and  not  between  the  thumb  and  fingers,  nor   betiveen  the 
fingers.     Make  calculations  how  wide  to  sow  at  one  through  or 
once  across,  and  endeavor  to  give  the  grain  such  a  cast  that  it 
will  come  down  as  evenly  as  possible. 

497.  In  sowing  by  middle  furrows  and  ridges,  which,  if  the 
plowing  has  been  done  correctly,  will  be   just  twenty-two  feet 
apart,  I  always  sow  just  eleven  feet  to  a  cast.     I  can  usually  sow 
more  evenly  by  walking  about  midway  from  each  edge  of  the 
strip  that  I  am  sowing.     It  matters  little  where  a  sower  walks, 
if  he  only  distributes  his  grain  evenly. 

498.  Casting  the  grain  all  one  way  is  the  most  approved  man 
ner  of  sowing,  with  many  farmers.     When  sowing  is  performed 
in  this  manner,  some  farmers  mark  out  the   ground  with   marks 
just  eleven  feet  apart,  and  the  sower  travels  in  the  marks  ;  and  if 
he  commences  sowing  east  and  west  on  the  north  margin  of  the 
field,  he  starts  at  the  east  end,  travelling  on  the  margin,  and  casts 
the  grain  to  the  south  with  his  right  hand,  sowing  up  to  the  first 
mark.     Now,  when  travelling  to  the  east,  he  walks  in  the  mark 
and  casts  his  grain  to  the  south  with  his  left  hand,  and  so  on,  until 
the  entire  field  is  finished. 

499.  Some  farmers  walk  in  the  middle  furrow,  and  cast  the 
grain  half  way  from  the  furrow  to  the  ridge,  and  in  returning 
travel  on  the  ridge,  and  with  the   same  hand  cast  the   grain  from 
the  ridge,  half  way  to  the  middle  furrow,  and  then  return  on  the 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  353 

ridge,  sowing  with  the  same  hand  half  way  to  the  next  middle 
furrow. 

500.  Some  farmers  sow  from  a  basket  suspended  from  their 
neck,  walking  in  the  middle  of  the  strip  to  be  sowed,  and  casting 
at  every  step,  alternately,  with  both  hands.     I  never  could  dis 
cover  any  advantage  in  this  manner  of  sowing.     Indeed,  I  do 
not  approve  of  it,  because  it  requires  a  long  practice  before  a 
man  can  become  an  ambidexter — able  to  use  both  hands  in  sow 
ing  with  equal  facility.      There   are  those  who   can   sow  very 
evenly  with  both  hands,  alternately,  but  if  the  sower  is  not  ex 
ceedingly  careful  he  will  sow  more  unevenly  in  this  manner  than 
when  he  sows  with  only  one  hand. 

SOWING   BY   STAKES. 

501.  When  the  ground  is  not  prepared  by  furrows  and  ridges, 
nor  by  marks,  (see  Par.  498,)  the  idea  is  to  sow  by  one  or  two  rows 
of  stakes,  placed  at  a  given  distance.     In  sowing  with  one  row 
of  stakes,  which  should  be  not  more  than  eight  or  ten  rods  apart, 
set  a  stake  where  you  commence,  twenty-two  feet — or  seven  paces 
is  my  rule — from  the  margin  of  the  plot  to  be  sowed.     Sow  along 
the  margin  eight  or  ten  rods,  and  plant  another  stake  seven  paces 
from  the  margin,  and  so  on  clear  across  the  field.     Now,  in  re 
turning,  sow  from  the  row  of  stakes  half-way  to  the  margin  of 
the  field,  or  up  to  where  it  has  been  sowed.     Now,  set  the  first 
stake  seven  paces  farther  on,  at  the  end  where  you  first  com 
menced,  and  sow  up  to  the  row  of  stakes.     According  to  this 
mode  the  sower  casts  with  only  one  hand  in  sowing  both  ways. 

502.  When  two  rows  of  stakes  are  used  in  sowing,  they  are 
placed  eleven  feet  apart,  or  as  far  apart  as  the  width  of  the  strip, 
which  is  sowed  at  one  through,  and  one  row  of  stakes  is  carried 
by  the  other  row,  at  every  through  or  time  across  the  field.     Sow 
ing  with  two  rows  of  stakes  consumes  too  much  time  in  removing 
them.     When  a  sower  uses  two  rows  of  stakes,  he  usually  walks 
between  them ;  although  some  sowers  choose  to  walk  in  the  line 
of  one  row,  and  sow  with  the  right  hand  when  going  one  way, 
and  with  the  left  hand  when  going  in  the  opposite  direction. 


354  THE  YOUNG  FARMEE's   MANUAL. 


IMPORTANT    CONSIDERATIONS. 

503.  "Whatever  the   manner  of   sowing   may  be,  the  sower 
should  endeavor  to  travel  with  an  even  step,  and  in  a  straight 
course,  and  not  step  sometimes  three  feet  or  more,  and  sometimes 
one  foot  or  two  feet,  because  any  variation  in  the  steps  will  tend 
to  sow  the  grain  unevenly.     A  sower  who  has  long  legs  and 
takes  long  steps,  is  too  apt  to  get  over  the  ground  so  fast  that  he 
will  not  distribute  a  sufficient  amount  of  seed,  unless  he  has  a 
very  large  hand.     On  the  contrary,  he  whose  legs  are  very  short, 
and  who  takes  short  steps,  if  he  has  a  large  hand,  is  very  liable 
to  sow  too  thick.     Most  sowers   are  quite  apt  to  scatter  much 
grain  in  bunches  and  streaks,  when  they  bring  their  hands  back 
from  the  grain  preparatory  to  casting  it.     The  hand  should  grasp 
as  much  as  is  thought  proper,  and  be  brought  back  even  with  his 
side,  as  high  as  the  hips,  and  extended  the  entire  length,  when 
the  hand,  in  the  act  of  casting  the  grain,  should  always  move  hori 
zontally,  and  not  rise  nor  fall,  when  in  the  act  of  sowing.    (See  Par. 
496.)     Beginners  are  very  apt  to  cast  their  grain  in  streaks  three 
or  four  times  as  thick  along  their  tracks  as  it  is  a  few  feet  distant. 
Some  sowers  give  their  grain  an  upward  heave  as  they  cast  it, 
throwing  so  far  that  the  courses  will  overlap  each  other  several 
feet.     This  practice  is  not  as  good  as  it  is  to  have  the  courses 
overlap  a  very  little.     When  they  overlap  too  much,  the  grain 
will  be  too  uneven.     A  sower  should  not  cast  too  high  nor  too 
low.     If  he  casts  too  high,  the  grain  will  be  too  thin  in  the  middle 
of  the  courses ;  and  if  he  casts  too  low,  the  grain  will  be  too  thin 
at  the  junction  of  the  courses.     A  sower  who  casts  his  grain  low, 
if  he  casts  it  the  most  proper  distance,  will  always  sow  more 
evenly  than  he  who  casts  his  grain  very  high ;    and  this  is  more 
particularly  true  in 

SOWING    GRAIN    WHEN    THE    WIND    BLOWS. 

504.  No  sower,  however  skillful,  can  sow  grain  evenly  when 
the  wind  is  blowing  furiously,  or  hard  enough  to  change  the 
course  of  the  grain  as  it  is  cast  from  his  hands.     If  the  wind 


355 

always  blew  steadily,  a  sower  could  make  calculations  how  far 
the  grain  would  be  drifted,  and  could  thus  sow  it  tolerably  even. 
But  as  the  wind  blows  in  sudden  gusts,  a  sower  may  calculate 
how  far  to  cast  his  handfuls,  and  may  cast  a  number  of  them 
with  all  desirable  precision,  and  in  an  instant  a  gust  of  wind 
would  drift  two  or  three  handfuls  in  one  place,  leaving  a  space 
without  a  dozen  kernels  of  grain  on  it.  A  sower  can  sow  any 
kind  of  grain  with  the  wind,  far  better  than  he  can  when  he  casts 
towards  the  wind,  whether  he  travels  with  the  wind  blowing  in 
his  face  or  against  one  side.  If  grain  must  be  sowed  when  the 
wind  blows,  I  always  endeavor  to  manage  so  as  to  sow  with  the 
wind,  and  never  against  it.  One  way  is,  to  have  all  the  grain  on 
the  windward  side  of  the  field  and  sow  towards  the  leeward  side, 
returning  with  empty  vessel.  Another  way  is,  if  the  wind  blows 
from  the  south,  commence  on  the  south  side,  and  if  the  wind  is 
north  commence  on  the  north  side,  and  cast  the  grain  all  to  the 
south.  In  travelling  to  the  east  on  the  north  side,  cast  the  grain 
with  the  left  hand,  and  when  going  to  the  west,  cast  it  with  the 
right  hand.  (See  Par.  498.)  Let  a  sower  do  the  best  he  can,  if 
the  wind  blows  very  hard  the  grain  will  be  very  uneven. 

MANNER    OF    GAUGING    THE    HANDFULS. 

505.  If  it  is  at  all  difficult  for  the  tyro  to  gauge  his  handfuls 
when  he  grasps  a  large  or  small  quantity  with  all  his  fingers,  he 
must  try  several  expedients.  Sometimes  he  must  close  the  little 
finger  only  when  taking  a  handful,  and  sometimes  close  both  the 
second  and  third  fingers  also.  Sometimes,  in  sowing  buckwheat, 
or  flax-seed,  or  any  kind  of  seed,  where  but  a  small  quantity  to 
the  acre  is  needed,  some  sowers  hold  a  round  stone  with  their 
third  and  fourth  fingers.  Some  sowers  grasp  a  large  handful,  and 
cast  a  small  portion  of  it  at  every  step,  casting  both  ways,  as  the 
arm  moves  back  and  forth.  But  I  could  never  recommend  this 
mode  of  gauging  the  handfuls,  because  twice  or  thrice  as  much  is 
apt  to  be  cast  at  once  as  there  should  be ;  and  sometimes  as  the 
sower  empties  his  hand  there  will  not  be  in  it  enough  for  half  a 
cast.  In  gauging  the  handfuls  when 


356  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

SOWING   GRASS   SEED, 

506.  The  tyro  would  sow  more  evenly  to  hold  a  round  ball  of 
wood,  as  large  as  a  hen's  egg  of  ordinary  size — not  an  ill-shapen 
polygon — in  his  hand,  grasping  the  desired  amount  of  seed  with 
the  thumb  and  fore  finger.     In  sowing  grass  seed — not  in  the 
chaff — it  is  best  to  sow  the  field  loth  ways,  sowing  half  the  de 
sired  amount  each  way.     This  is  far  better  than  to  sow  it  all  at 
one  sowing,  because  it  distributes  it  more  evenly. 

507.  If  the  ridges  and  middle  furrows  are  about  forty-two  feet, 
equidistant, — twenty-two  feet  from  ridge  to  furrow, — it  is  better 
to  sow  such  a  strip  at  five  throughs  instead  of  four,  as  in  sowing 
grain.     In  sowing  grass  seed  by  stakes,  and  especially  very  light 
grass  seed,  it  is  best  to  sow  at  one  through  only  about  eight  and 
a  half  feet.     Some  farmers  sow  at  one  through  twelve  feet  in 
width.     But  it  is  difficult  to  sow  so  wide  a  strip  at  one  through 
without  making  balks. 

THICK   AND    THIN    SEEDING. 

508.  It  seems  hardly  necessary  to  state,  that  if  grain  is  sowed 
very  thick  on  the  ground,  but  little  or  no  seed  will  be  produced  ; 
and  if  it  is  sowed  too  thin,  not  so  much  grain  will  be  produced  as 
there  would  be  if  it  were  sowed  thicker.      There  is  little  danger 
of  getting  grass  seed  of  any  kind  too  thick.     Not  half  of  our  best 
farmers  sow  as  much  per  acre,  by  one  half  or  more,  as  would  be 
most  profitabfe.      But  there  is  danger  of  sowing  grain  too  thick, 
and  too  thin  also.     Now  if  grain  can  be  too  thick  and  too  thin, 
in  order  to  produce  the  largest  amount  per  acre  there  must  be  a 
medium  quantity,  which,  if  sowed,  will  produce  more  grain  per 
acre  than  any  other  amount,  either  smaller  or  greater.     The  idea, 
then,  is,  to  determine   with  any  degree  of  certainty  how  much 
grain  per  acre,  when  evenly  sowed,  will  produce  the  greatest 
amount  of  grain.     There  are  very  many  collateral  considerations 
which  must  not  be  disregarded  in  deciding  how  much  grain  to 
sow  per  acre.     Different  kinds  of  grain,  in  order  to  obtain  the 
largest  amount,  require  a  different  amount  of  seed  per  acre.     Dif- 


357 

ferent  soils,  also,  require  a  different  amount  of  seed ;  and  a  differ 
ent  amount  of  the  same  kind  of  seed  is  very  necessary  in  order 
to  produce  the  greatest  amount  of  grain  per  acre.  Sometimes  60 
Ibs.  of  a  given  kind  of  winter  wheat  will  produce  only  half  as 
much  as  60  Ibs.  of  the  same  kind  of  wheat, — both  kinds  being  of 
first  quality, — if  the  kernels  were  large  in  the  first,  and  half  as 
large  in  the  second  mentioned.  We  have  no  standard  size  for 
the  kernels  of  any  kind  of  grain.  If  we  had  it  would  be  an  easy 
task  to  "determine,  with  the  greatest  accuracy,  how  much  grain 
of  any  kind  we  must  sow  in  order  to  obtain  the  greatest  amount 
per  acre.  Some  grain  tillers  to  a  certain  extent,  if  it  is  not  sowed 
too  thick.  Therefore,  if  one  hundred  kernels  of  grain  are  sowed 
at  such  a  distance  apart  that  by  tillering  they  will  produce  just 
six  heads  each,  or  six  hundred  heads ;  and  if  six  hundred  kernels 
are  sowed  in  the  same  space  of  ground  and  do  not  tiller  at  all,  the 
evidence  cannot  be  gainsayed,  that,  although  the  first  amount 
mentioned  may  be  too  small,  six  times  that  amount  will  be  less 
profitable  than  the  first,  or  an  amount  a  little  larger.  One  kernel 
of  buckwheat  or  of  flax-seed,  when  sowed  alone,  will  usually  pro 
duce  more  seed  than  half  a  dozen  kernels,  when  sowed  within  the 
compass  which  is  occupied  by  the  one  plant.  Now  the  question 
arises,  how  may  the  tyro  know,  or  be  able  to  determine  with  tol 
erable  certainty,  how  much  to  sow  per  acre  in  order  to  get  the 
largest  amount  of  grain.  A  will  tell  him  so  much,  and  B  will 
say  double  that  amount ;  while  C  will  affirm  that  in  both  cases 
the  amount  is  too  small.  They  may  all  be  correct,  and  under 
different  circumstances  all  be  very  wrong. 

509.  In  order  to  settle  the  point  most  satisfactorily,  let  a 
farmer  measure  off  a  number  of  plots  of  good  soil,  as  nearly  equal 
in  every  respect  as  practicable,  and  sow  them  all  with  the  same 
kind  of  grain.  Now  in  one  acre  of  ground  there  are  43,560 
square  feet.  One  bushel  of  wheat  weighs  sixty  Ibs.  Now  we 
will  have  the  plots  for  sowing  wheat  contain  just  one  sixtieth  of 
an  acre ;  so  that  by  sowing  one  pound  on  a  plot  it  will  be  at  the 
rate  of  one  bushel  per  acre.  One  sixtieth  of  43,560  is  726. 
Now  a  plot  of  ground  twenty-seven  feet  square — not  twenty-seven 


358  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

square  feet — is  as  nearly  one  sixtieth  of  an  acre  as  we  care  to 
measure.  Measure  off  five  such  plots.  On  the  first  sow  one  Ib. 
of  good  wheat,  and  label  it  as  sown  at  the  rate  of  one  bushel  per 
acre.  On  the  second  sow  two  Ibs.,  or  one  Ib.  and  a  half.  On 
the  third  sow  two,  or  two  and  a  half  Ibs.  On  the  fourth  sow 
three,  or  three  and  a  half  Ibs.  On  the  fifth  sow  four  Ibs.  Sow 
them  all  very  evenly,  having  a  space  of  a  foot  wide  between 
each  plot,  and  cover  the  seed  with  a  hand-rake.  At  harvest, 
cut  and  weigh  each  plot  separately,  and  note  the  result.  Notice 
particularly  the  size  of  the  kernels,  and  then  make  an  estimate 
of  how  many  kernels  in  a  pound,  &c.,  and  the  young  farmer  will 
have  in  his  possession  some  valuable,  tangible  data,  which  will 
aid  him  in  determining  this  point  with  more  correctness  than 
the  opinion  of  all  the  best  farmers  in  his  vicinity. 

510.  In  determining  how  many  Ibs.  of  oats  to  sow  per  acre, 
when  the  kernels  are  of  a  given  size,  and  the  soil  of  a  given  qual 
ity,  as  thirty-two  Ibs.  constitute   a  statute  bushel  in  the  Empire 
State,  measure  off  four  or  five  plots,  each  plot  containing  one 
thirty-second  part  of  an  acre,  which  is  1,361£  square  feet, — not 
feet  square, — equal  to  a  plot  forty -five  feet  and  three  inches  long 
and  thirty  feet  wide.     One  pound  of  oats  evenly  sowed  on  such  a 
plot  will  be  at  the  rate  of  one  bushel  per  acre.     Two  Ibs.,  at  the 
rate  of  two  bushels  per  acre.     Two  and  a  half  Ibs.,  at  the  rate  of 
two  and  a  half  bushels  per  acre.     Sow  five  plots  in  this  manner, 
and  note  the  result,  as  in  Par.  509. 

511.  Forty-eight  Ibs.  make  a  statute  bushel  of  barley;  and  the 
size  of  the  kernels  varies  as  much  as  almost  any  other  cereal  grain. 
If  the  kernels  are  very  large,  it  will  be  necessary  to  sow  more 
pounds  per  acre  than  it  would  if  they  were  only  half  as  large. 
But  in  order  to  test    the  matter  as  directed  in  509  and  510, 
43,560  square  feet  in  an  acre  divided  by  48,  the  number  of  Ibs. 
in  a  bushel,  gives  907^  square  feet,  which  is  equal  to  a  plot  of 
ground  about  30  J  feet  long  and  30  feet  wide.     One  Ib.  of  barley 
sowed  on  this  plot  will  be  at  the  rate  of  one  bushel  per  acre ;  two 
Ibs.,  two  bushels,  &c. 

512.  On  my  soil  I  have  been  accustomed  to  sow  not  more  than 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  359 

three  bushels  of  oats,  two  and  a  half  to  three  of  barley,  and  one 
and  a  half  of  wheat.  "When  more  than  that  amount  of  wheat  is 
sowed  it  tillers  but  little,  and  the  heads  are  very  short,  and  the 
grain  small.  I  have  sowed  at  the  rate  of  four  or  more  bushels 
of  oats  per  acre,  and  the  straw  was  slender,  the  kernels  small, 
and  but  a  small  number  on  each  straw. 

513.  I  am  well  satisfied,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  it  requires  at 
least  half  a  bushel  of  seed  per  acre  less  when  it  is  drilled  in  than 
when  it  is  sowed  broadcast ;  and  that  I  always  obtain  several 
bushels  more  per  acre  when  the  seed  is  put  in  with  a  drill  than 
when  it  is  sowed  broadcast.  When  grain  is  drilled  in,  it  is  all 
covered  of  a  uniform  depth,  and  consequently  it  vegetates  alike, 
and  grows  more  uniformly  and  evenly,  and  stands  more  evenly 
on  the  ground.  When  grain  is  sowed  broadcast,  even  with  some 
machines,  the  grain  in  some  places  is  scattered  at  the  rate  of  four 
or  five  bushels  per  acre ;  while  in  other  places,  when  the  wind 
blows,  the  proportion  is  less  than  one  bushel  per  acre.  And 
more  than  this,  some  of  the  kernels  are  not  covered  at  all,  and 
some  of  them  are  covered  two,  three,  and  four  inches  deep  ;  and 
a  vast  deal  of  it  is  covered  so  deep  in  mellow  soil  by  the  feet  of 
the  team  that  it  never  comes  up  at  all ;  and  much  of  it  that  does 
come  up  after  a  long  time  never  amounts  to  anything  at  all  but 
straw.  The  question  now  arises, 


WHAT  IS  THE  MOST  PROPER  DEPTH  TO  COVER  SEEDS? 

514.  We  all  know  that  if  seeds  are  covered  so  deep  that  all 
the  substance  of  the  kernel  is  exhausted  in  forming  the  roots  and 
stems  before  it  reaches  the  surface  of  the  ground,  the  sprout  must 
die.  And  we  acknowledge  also  that  if  a  kernel  is  not  covered 
deep  enough  it  does  not  flourish  luxuriantly.  That  the  depth  at 
which  seeds  are  covered  materially  influences  the  germination  of 
them  no  one  will  deny.  The  shallower  grain  is  covered,  provid 
ing  it  is  covered  sufficiently  deep  to  insure  a  healthy  and  good 
germination,  the  better  it  will  be  for  the  plant.  Small  seeds  need 
only  a  light  sprinkling  of  earth.  If  they  are  covered  deep,  if 


360 

they  germinate  at  all  there  is  not  substance  enough  in  them  to 
push  a  stem  to  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  of  course  they  die.  Oft- 
repeated  experiments  and  extensive  observation  prove  very  conclu 
sively  that  if  our  cereals  are  covered  about  two  inches  deep  every 
good  seed  will  germinate  readily,  and  be  as  productive,  and  per 
haps  more  so,  than  if  covered  at  any  other  depth.  As  they  are 
covered  deeper  than  two  inches,  they  are  longer  in  coming  to  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  Grass  seed  vegetates  better,  and  more  of 
the  seeds  grow,  if  they  are  sowed  after  the  last  harrowing,  or  after 
the  roller.  When  it  is  harrowed  or  rolled  in,  a  good  portion  of 
it  is  covered  so  deep  that  it  is  forever  lost.  A  good  shower  will 
cover  grass-seed  as  deep  as  it  ever  needs  to  be  covered. 

"  Soon  as  the  soil  receives  the  fruitful  seed, 
Make  no  delay,  but  cover  it  with  speed." — VIRGIL. 

ROLLING   THE    SOIL. 

515.  There  are  several  objects  in  rolling  the  soil  after  it  has 
been  harrowed.  One  is,  the  pulverization  of  the  lumps.  The 
roots  of  grain  seldom  or  never  enter  hard  lumps  of  earth.  An 
other  is,  to  cover  the  grain  that  the  harrow  has  failed  to  cover. 
This  it  does  by  mashing  the  lumps.  Another  object  is,  to  form 
a  smooth  surface  to  work  on,  with  mowers  or  reapers,  cradles, 
scythes,  or  rakes,  when  cutting  and  securing  a  crop.  Another 
is,  to  leave  the  surface  of  the  soil  as  smooth  as  practicable,  so 
that  the  next  plowing  may  be  neatly  performed.  Never  roll  up 
and  down  a  slope,  if  a  field  can  be  rolled  by  going  along  the 
slope,  because  a  heavy  roller  draws  hard  up  a  slope.  I  would  as 
soon  dispense  with  my  harrow  as  with  my  land  roller.  I  always 
entertained  a  poor  opinion  of  small  rollers,  because  they  draw 
heavily,  and  are  not  as  effective  as  a  larger  one  in  levelling  the 
surface  of  the  soil.  Rollers  usually  cost  too  much.  A  common 
farmer  in  moderate  circumstances,  does  not  feel  willing  to  expend 
thirty  or  forty  dollars  for  a  roller.  Therefore,  I  will  give  direc 
tions  to  the  young  farmer,  who  is  unwilling  to  pay  four  times  as 
much  as  a  good  roller  will  cost, 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  361 

HOW    TO    MAKE    A    ROLLER 

516.  That  will  do  good  service  for  an  age,  and  be  worth  two 
small  cast-iron  rollers  which  will  cost  fifty  dollars  each.     I  have 
a  roller  which  has  run  sixteen  years,  and  rolled  thousands  of 
acres,  and  has  not  cost  twenty -five  cents  for  repairs,  and  which 
will  be  good  for  thirty  years  to  come.     It  cost  less  than  ten  dol 
lars  for  materials  and  labor,  at  cash  prices.     A  roller  should  always 
be  double,  so  as  to  turn  more  easily  for  a  team.     It  should  be 
not  less  than  four  feet  in  diameter — so  as  to  be  heavy  and  run 
easy — and  about  eight  feet  long.     If  a  young  farmer  has  suffi 
cient  ingenuity  to  make  a  neat  "  cider  peg,"  he  will  be  able  to 
make  a  good  roller.     If  he  will  keep  it  under  shelter  it  may  be 
made  of  elm,  maple,  beech,  or  any  other  hard  wood.     The  axle 
of  mine  is  sugar  maple. 

517.  Specifications. — Fig.  146  represents  the  principal  parts  of 
a  wooden  roller ;  a  a  are  the  two  end  pieces  of  the  frame,  seven 
feet  four  inches  long,  and  three  by  four  inches  square,  framed  to  the 
front  and  rear  girts,  three  by  three,  nine  inches  apart,  with  inch 
and  a  half  tenons.     The  tongue  is  bolted  to  the  forward  girts,  with 
whipple-trees  on  the  under  side.     The  girts  are  eight  feet  three 
inches  between  joints.     E  is  the  shaft,  six  inches  square,  of  hard 
timber,  seasoned,  with  four  gains  turned  in  it,  h,  four  inches  in 
diameter  and  three  inches  wide,  and  a  bearing  at  each  end  three 
inches  in  diameter,  to  fit  a  hole  in  the  wooden  box  F  which  is 
bolted  to  the  under  side  of  a  a.     From  one  bearing  to  the  other, 
eight  feet  three  inches.     From  bearing  to  first  gain,  three  inches. 
Middle  gains,  six  inches  apart.     Get  it  turned  at  the  turning- 
shop,  or  machine  shop.     A  turner  will  turn  it  in  less  than  an 
hour ;    and  it  will  cost  not  over  thirty  cents.     I  is  one  of  the 
roller  heads,  in  two  parts,  with  a  four-inch  hole  in  the  centre. 
They  are  made  of  plank  three  inches  thick,  forty-four  inches  in 
diameter,    and   united   in  the   middle  with  four    1-^-inch  dowel 
pins  in    each    head.     The    pins    must   be    of    the    best    of  tim 
ber,  and  well-seasoned,  and  must  be  pinned  or  nailed,  to  keep 
the  heads  from  separating  in  case  the  dowel  pins  should  shrink. 
After  the  frame  is  made  and  the  shaft  E  fastened  in  its  place, 


362 


THE  YOUNG  FAKMER'S   MANUAL. 


place  the  ends  of  the  frame  a  a  on  two  benches,  and  put  the 
heads  b  in  their  places,  and  nail  four  small  braces,  d  d,  from  the 
shaft  to  the  head,  to  hold  it  true  as  it  revolves.  Now,  saw  off 


A.  LAND  ROLLER  FRAME. 


the  staves,  c  c,  which  are  two  inches  thick,  four  inches  wide,  and 
three  feet  eleven  and  a  quarter  inches  long,  and  with  a  carpenter's 
adz,  dress  the  inside  of  each  stave  hollowing  so  as  to  fit  the  heads, 
and  nail  them  with  forty-penny  nails.  If  the  staves  are  very 
hard,  bore  holes  for  the  nails.  It  is  not  important  to  have  the 
edges  of  staves  bevelled  very  neatly.  Some  men  never  bevel 
them  at  all.  The  shaft  will  wear  three  times  as  long  if  the 
holes  in  the  heads  are  bushed  with  thin  band  or  hoop-iron,  as 
iron  and  wood  will  wear  much  longer  than  wood  running  in 
wood.  It  is  not  necessary  to  have  hoops  to  hold  the  staves. 
Nail  a  piece  of  leather  over  the  end  bearings  to  keep  the  dirt 


363 

out  of  the  boxes.  Use  soft  grease  instead  of  oil  on  the  bearings. 
The  two  parts  of  the  roller  should  be  one  inch  and  a  half  apart, 
as  at  the  dotted  lines,  and  should  run  as  close  to  the  hind  girt  as 
practicable,  in  order  to  scrape  off  any  dirt  that  may  adhere  to  it. 
But  soil  should  never  be  rolled  when  it  is  wet  enough  to  stick  to 
the  roller.  It  will  require  192  feet  for  the  heads,  about  192  feet 
for  the  staves,  about  50  feet  for  the  frame,  27  feet  for  the  shaft ; 
tongue  ten  cents,  turning  thirty  cents,  eight  pounds  of  nails 
thirty-six  cents,  eight  carriage-bolts  fifty  cents,  for  bolting-tongue 
and  bearing-boxes,  and  two  and  a  half  days'  work,  $3  13.  Rec- 
oning  the  timber  at  one  cent  per  foot,  the  cost  of  a  good  roller 
will  not  exceed  192  +  192  +  50  +  27  +  10  +  30  +  36  +  50  +  $3  13 
=$9  00.  Mechanics  will  scout  at  these  figures,  but  I  know 
that  I  can  get  up  a  roller  according  to  these  figures,  and  not  lift 
a  finger  toward  it.  But  those  who  would  like  a  very  neat  and 
more  expensive  roller,  should  procure 


Fig.  146^-  represents  a  perspective  view  of   a  most  superior 
FIG.  146  ,V. 


GILES  A  TOMPKINS'  IMPROVED  FIELD  BOLLEB,  WITH  SEED  AND  PLA8TEB  SOWEB  ATTACHED. 

field  roller  with  cover,  and  with  grass  seed  and  plaster-sower 
attached.  They  are  manufactured  by  Herald  &  Tompkins,  Tru- 
mansburg,  Tompkins  co.,  N.  Y.  The  prices  vary  from  $40  to 
$70.  With  cover  to  the  roller,  and  box  for  holding  stone  when 
hauling  them  off  the  field,  and  with  Seymour's  grain-sowing 


364  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

attachment,  for  sowing  all  kinds  of  grass  seed,  and  plaster,  lime, 
ashes,  and  other  kinds  of  fertilizers,  the  price  is  $70.  They  are 
made  in  a  very  neat  and  substantial  manner,  in  two  parts ;  and 
the  manner  of  hanging  them,  and  of  attaching  the  staves  to  the 
heads,  has  been  secured  to  them  by  letters  patent.  The  heads 
are  made  of  cast-iron,  with  a  flange  at  the  circumference  of  each 
head,  which  fits  a  gain  in  the  ends  of  each  stave,  so  that  no  bolts 
or  nails  are  used  in  fastening  the  staves  to  the  heads.  There  are 
cast-iron  gudgeons  bolted  to  the  ends  of  the  frame,  which  work 
in  the  hub  of  the  cast-iron  heads.  An  iron  cross-bar  passes 
between  the  two  parts  of  the  roller,  and  is  bolted  to  the  frame 
behind  and  before,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  cross-bar  are  two 
gudgeons,  which  play  in  the  centre  of  the  middle  heads.  Those 
who  desire  a  superior  roller,  will  do  well  to  confer  with  the  manu 
facturers  already  alluded  to.  It  weighs  about  eight  hundred 
pounds,  and  can  be  loaded  with  stone  to  make  it  heavier  if  de 
sired. 


CHAPTBK  IX. 

THE  FARMER'S  WORKSHOP. 

"  The  farmer's  workshop  now  our  notice  claims  ; 
The  work-bench,  screw,  the  yawning  jaws  and  planes, 
Augers  to  bore,  chisels  to  mortise,  grinning  saws 
To  cut  and  rip,  hammers  with  potent  claws  ; 
The  shaving-knife,  and  set  of  bits  and  brace, 
All  well  arranged,  each  in  its  proper  place." 

518.  EVERY  farmer  needs  a  good  workshop,  where  he  can 
appropriate  to  some  useful  purpose  his  leisure  days  in  winter,  and 
stormy  days  at  any  season  of  the  year ;  and  every  energetic 
and  thoughtful  farmer  will  have  a  shop,  and  will  avail  himself  of 
the  advantages  and  conveniences  which  a  shop  and  a  few  tools 
afford.  There  are  scores  of  farmers  (and  be  it  said  to  their 
shame)  who  squander  away  time  enough  in  one  season  in  loafing 
about  places  of  public  resort,  to  make  all  the  harrows,  gates, 
etc.,  that  are  needed  on  a  small  farm,  and  to  do  all  repairing 
of  implements,  if  they  only  had  a  bench  and  a  few  tools.  Fur 
thermore,  it"  is  a  good  discipline  for  any  farmer  to  exercise  his 
skill  in  the  use  of  tools,  and  if  a  skillful  and  ingenious  farmer 
will  only  become  accustomed  to  repair  his  implements,  if  he  pre 
pares  his  timber  for  such  purposes  beforehand,  he  will  have  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that,  all  things  considered,  his  repairing 
is  done  better  than  he  is  accustomed  to  have  it  done  by  regular 
mechanics.  The  idea  that  farmers  should  have  a  set  of  tools, 
may  appear  somewhat  ridiculous  to  many  people,  and  mechanics 
will  sometimes  deride  such  a  thought.  But  it  is  not  to  be  ex 
pected  that  a  farmer,  unskilled  in  the  mechanic  arts,  will  be  able 
to  handle  tools  with  all  the  facility  and  exactness  of  an  expe- 

(365) 


366 

rienced  mechanic.  Still,  with  a  little  practice,  and  with  the  in 
structions  we  shall  impart,  any  one  whose  apprehensions  are  not 
too  blunt,  may  do  his  own  repairing  of  the  common  implements  of 
the  farm,  and  make  many  new  tools  in  a  neat  and  workmanlike 
manner.  It  is  impossible  to  do  a  piece  of  work  well  without 
tools,  and  if  the  tyro  has  tools,  and  they  are  in  good  order,  he 
will  often  do  a  piece  of  work  infinitely  better  than  he  had  ever 
thought  it  were  possible  for  him  to  do  it. 

519.  The  Fig.  147,  on  the  opposite  page,  represents  in  part 
one  side  of  a  farmer's  workshop.     It  ought  not  to  be  smaller  than 
sixteen  by  twenty -four  feet.     A  larger  shop  than  this  is  always 
convenient.     There  should  be  a  window  at  each  end  of  the  bench 
on  the  same  side  of  the  shop,  and  the  more  windows  there  are 
on  the  other  sides  the  better. 

520.  The  bench  should  be  not  less  than  twelve  feet  long,  and 
the  front  plank  not  less  than  three  inches  thick,  of  some  hard 
wood.     Two  feet  and  six  inches  is  wide  enough  for  a  bench  for 
ordinary  purposes.     The  height  should  be  in  proportion  to  the 
height  of  the  man  who  works  at  it.     The  correct  height  is,  just 
so  a  man  can  sit  on  it  by  standing  on  tip-toe.     If  it  be  too  high, 
he  cannot  shove  a  plane  easily,  and  if  too  low,  he  will  be  obliged 
to  stoop  too  much. 

521.  The  jaws,  of  which  a  is  the  movable  one,  and  b  the 
stationary  one,  should  be  made  of  hard  timber,  four  by  five  inches 
square,  and  should  extend  above  the  bench  six  or  seven  inches, 
so  that  the  shaving-knife  can  be  used  in  dressing  out  timber. 
The  bench-screw  should  work  in  a  nut  cut  in  the  jaw,  b,  and 
should  be  above  the  bench  rather  than  under  it.     There   are 
several  patent  devices  for  keeping  the   jaws  parallel  with  each 
other,  when  holding  a  stick  of  timber,  but  the  one  shown  in  the 
figure  is  the  cheapest,  and  good  enough  for  any  one.     The  ends 
of  the  jaws  should  be  mounted  with  cast-iron  flanges,  as  shown 
in  the  engraving,  fitted  neatly  to  the  jaws. 

522.  c  is  a  rest,  which  may  be  placed  in  any  of  the  holes  in 
the  bench,  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  one  end  of  anything 
that  may  be  held  in  the  vise  when  dressing  it  out. 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


367 


368  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

523.  L  is  a  board  made  to  slide  in  a  groove  in  the  frame  of 
the  bench,  and  a  pin  is  put  in  any  of  the  holes  in  it,  to  support 
one  end  of  a  board  when  jointing  the  edges. 

524.  d  is  a  "  grab-hook,"  made  of  a  piece  of  wood  two  inches 
square  and  a  foot  long,  for  laying  on  the  bench,  with  one  notch 
against  the  front  side  of  the  bench,  and  whatever  is  to  be  sawed 
is  placed  on  it  against  the  other  hook  of  it. 

525.  c  is  a  dog  or  plane-hook,  made  of  an  old  steel  file,  and 
teeth  filed  in  the  end  that  is  turned  over  for  holding  anything 
that  is  to  be  planed.     It  should  fit  so  tightly  in  the  bench  that  it 
must  be  adjusted  with  a  hammer. 

526.  His  the  shaving- knife,  which  should  hang  on  a  wooden 
pin,  opposite   the  jaws,  so  that  standing  on  either  side  of  the 
jaws  one  may  reach  it.     /  is  the  measuring  carpenter's  square, 
and  K  is  the   try-square,  hanging  on  a  square  block.    /  is  the 
tool-rack,  for  holding  chisels,  bits,  &c.,  which  is  a  kind  of  shelf 
with  holes  in  it  for  holding  them.     The  brace  should  hang  close 
to  the  bits.     Angers  should  hang  at  the  front  end  of  the  bench, 
on  the  side  of  the  shop.     They  should  not  hang  all  together,  so 
as  to  touch  each  other,  lest  the  lips  become  injured  and  dulled 
by  knocking  one  against  another.     The  framing  chisels  should  all 
be  at  one   end  of  the  tool-rack,  and  the  firming  chisels  next  to 
them.     Each  chisel  should  have  its  place,  and  so  should  each  bit 
and  screw-driver ;   and  the  tyro  should  adopt  the  plan  at  once  of 
putting  every  tool  back  in  its  proper  place  when  he  is  working 
at  the  bench,  even  if  he  uses  it  every  two  minutes.     It  is  a  bad 
habit  to  lay  bits  on  the  bench  because  they  are  to  be  used  again 
in  a  moment.     The  saws  should  hang  on  wooden  pins  about  the 
middle  of  the  bench.     The  slitting-saw,  the  back  or  tenon  saw, 
the    crosscut    hand-saw,  and  compass-saw,  should  each  have  its 
place  ;  and  if  taken  down  only  to  cut  off  a  stick,  let  it  be  hung  up 
again  at  once,  and  never  laid  down  on  the  bench,     c  is  a  felloe- 
saw,  for  sawing  out  circular  work,  and  at  one  end  is  a  stirrup  for 
straining  the  saw,  having  a  nut  and  screw  on  the  outside  of  the 
frame.     M  is  a  drawer  with  apartments  in  it  for  screws,  cotters, 
brads,  nails,  and  other  trinkets.     Let  the  mallet  be  hung  up 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  369 

under  the  saws,  near  the  chisels.  Other  tools  which  it  is  not 
necessary  to  enumerate,  should  have  a  place  on  a  shelf  or  in  a 
closet.  If  one  has  an  iron  vise,  it  should  be  attached  to  a  bench 
on  the  other  side  of  the  shop,  because  it  would  be  very  much 
in  the  way  on  one  end  of  the  work-bench  when  planing  a  long 
board.  A  large,  heavy  piece  of  cast-iron  will  answer  for  an 
anvil.  The  planes  should  be  placed  opposite  the  plane-dog,  e, 
and  the  ends  should  rest  on  a  couple  of  strips  nailed  across  the 
bench,  so  that  when  they  are  set  on  the  bench  the  edges  of  the 
plane  irons  will  not  be  dulled  against  any  grit  which  may  be  on 
the  bench.  Iron  chips,  and  iron  filings,  and  all  such  substances, 
should  be  brushed  from  the  bench  so  that  edge  tools  will  not  get 
dulled  on  them.  Remember,  that  it  is  the  most  skillful  part  of  a 
trade  to  put  tools  in  order,  and  to  keep  them  in  order.  It  is  bad 
policy  to  work  with  dull  tools. 


EDGE    TOOLS. 

And  now  we  speak  of  edge-tools  long  and  slim, 
With  edges  straight,  or  curved,  or  thick,  or  thin  ; 
Of  furbished  knives  to  cut,  and  rip,  and  shave  ; 
Of  piercing  forms  to  separate  and  cleave  ; 
Of  tiny  needles,  awls  with  double  edge, 
And  other  forms  that  sunder  like  the  wedge. 

527.  Every  instrument  that  has  a  cutting  edge,  whether  it  is 
formed  for  piercing  substances,  for  shaving  off  the  surface  piece 
meal,  or  for  cutting  them  in  two,  operates  like  a  wedge.     Pocket- 
knives,  cambric  needles,  grass  scythes,  and  shears  of  all  kinds, 
are  wedges  ;  and  their  efficiency  usually  depends  on  the  complete 
ness  of  the  cutting  edge,  and  on  the  acuteness  or  ohtuseness  of  the 
angle  with  which  they  are  formed,  and  on  the  trucness  and  smooth 
ness  of  their  surfaces.     (See  WEDGES,  Par.  344.) 

528.  Mathematically  speaking,  a  perfect  edge  in  any  tool  is  an 
absolute  impossibility.     The  finest  and  keenest  edge  that  can  be 
produced  on  the  very  best  razor,  when  viewed  through  a  micro- 


370  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

scope  appears  full  of  serrature — more  like  the  edge  of  a  huge  saw 
than  a  razor.  So  with  the  finest  cambric  needle,  whose  point  is 
as  delicate  as  it  can  be  made,  when  viewed  through  a  microscope 
the  point  appears  like  a  blunt,  dull  crowbar.  When  we  attempt 
to  cut  a  very  fine  hair  with  a  very  sharp  razor,  by  holding  the 
hair  between  the  thumb  and  finger,  with  one  end  of  the  hair  hang 
ing  free,  we  can  perceive  the  serrature  by  the  slipping  or  jerking 
of  the  hair  from  one  to  another. .  In  the  sickle  the  serrature  may 
be  seen  with  the  naked  eye.  In  a  scythe,  and  in  many  other 
tools,  we  can  feel  them  by  drawing  a  finger  along  the  edge,  when 
the  tool  has  a  good  edge.  When  a  grass  scythe  is  in  good  order 
the  serrations  are  not  as  fine  as  they  can  be  made,  because  if  they 
were  the  scythe  would  not  be  most  effective.  (See  PUTTING 
SCYTHES  IN  ORDER,  551.) 

529.  Why  may  we  not  make  a  razor,  or  a  knife  blade,  or  any 
other  cutting  instrument,  out  of  a  piece  of  cast  or  wrought  iron  ? 
Why  can  we  not  make  a  needle  or  an  awl  out  of  a  piece  of  wire? 
Because  there  is  not  sufficient  firmness  and  solidity  between  the 
particles  of  such  materials  to  retain  their  shape  and  position  when 
brought  in  contact  with  other  substances.  We  have  seen  (see 
WEDGES,  Par.  344)  that  a  piece  of  very  tough  and  hard  wood 
always  makes  the  best  wedges.  This  holds  good  in  respect  to 
edge  tools :  the  cutting  edge  must  be  made  of  such  material  as  is 
capable  of  being  made  not  only  hard,  but  tough  and  hard.  If 
iron  that  is  capable  of  being  made  very  hard  would  make  the 
best  edge  tools,  there  would  be  nothing  better  than  good  cast- 
iron  ;  because  that  can  be  made  as  hard  as  we  can  desire.  But 
such  iron  possesses  no  more  tenacity  than  glass,  and  of  course  is 
unfit  for  edge  tools.  '  If  an  edge  tool  were  made  of  the  very 
toughest  iron,  it  might  appear  to  the  naked  eye  to  possess  all  the 
qualities  of  a  very  effective  tool.  But  when  brought  into  use, 
the  edge  would  readily  yield  by  bending  and  turning  every  way, 
because  the  cutting  edge  lacks  firmness  and  hardness  in  addition 
to  its  toughness.  And,  more  than  these  qualities  already  men 
tioned,  the  serrations  of  the  cutting  edge  of  a  tool  made  of  either 
wrought  or  cast-iron  would  be  very  coarse  ;  and  if  they  possessed 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  371 

tenacity  and  hardness  they  would  lack  a  very  important  quality 
— -fineness  of  particle. 

530.  Now  good  steel  possesses  every  desirable  quality  for  mak 
ing  the  best  of  edge  tools.     It  possesses  refinement  of  particles, 
and  is  capable  of  being  made  very  hard  and  brittle,  as  glass,  or 
tough  and  soft,  as  wrought  iron ;  or  any  degree  of  hardness  and 
tenacity  combined,  from  its  softest  to  its  hardest  condition,  may 
easily  be  secured.     Many  kinds  of  tools  are  made  wholly  of  steel; 
and  some  are  made  of  a  part  iron,  and  faced  with  steel ;  and  some 
are  made  of  entire  steel,  excepting  the  shank  or  the  eye. 

531.  Framing  chisels,  for  example,  are  made  with  the  whole 
face  steel  and  the  back  iron ;  but  firming  chisels  are  usually  all 
steel.     Large,  heavy  tools,  the  edges  of  which  are  bevelled  only  on 
one  side,  are  made  with  a  steel  face,  for  the  sake  of  economy  in 
the  cost  of  tools,  and  are  just  as  good,  and  sometimes  better,  than 
if  they  were  all  steel.     The  cutting  edge  of  an  axe,  or  a  pick,  or 
crowbar,  or  any  other  tool  the  edge  of  which  is  bevelled  on  both 
sides,  must  be  all  steel  for  a  few  inches  back  of  the  cutting  edge. 
Large  knives  for  some  kinds  of  straw-cutters,  shingle-machines, 
and  such  like,  the  edges  of  which  are  bevelled  only  on  one  side, 
are  just  as  good,  and  much  cheaper,  by  having  their  faces  laid 
with  a  thin  plate  of  steel.     When  it  is  desirable  to  have  tools  of 
a  given  size,  they  should  always  be  forged  a  very  little  larger, 
wider,  and  thicker  than  it  is  necessary  to  have  them,  so  that  there 
will  be  room  or  space  for  finishing  them  up  well.      The  forging 
should  be  done  as  true  and  smooth  as  practicable,  and  the  tools 
partly  ground  or  filed  off  a  little,  and  then  tempered. 

TEMPERING   EDGE-TOOLS. 

"  The  tempered  metals  clash,  and  yield  a  silver  sound." — DRTDEW. 

532.  Tempering  edge  tools  is  the  art  of  giving  them  a  certain 
degree  of  hardness.     If  a  tool  be  made  of  the  very  lest  of  steel, 
and  has  not  the  correct  temper,  it  is  in  one  respect  no  better  than 
if  it  were  made  of  steel  of  a  very  inferior  quality.     It  requires  the 
exercise  of  much  skill  and  wisdom  to  temper  tools  right.     A  man 


372  THE  YOUNG  FAKMER'S  MANUAL. 

may  be  able  to  forge  and  finish  up  edge  tools  in  the  neatest  man 
ner,  and  be  incompetent  to  temper  them  well.  This  is  an  art 
which  is  acquired  by  the  exercise  of  mechanical  skill,  and  long 
experience.  A  workman  may  "  hit  "  upon  the  right  temper  in 
one  tool,  and  then,  if  he  is  not  a  natural  mechanic,  and  if  his  ob 
servation  be  not  very  close,  and  perception  very  quick  and  keen, 
he  may  fail  to  get  the  correct  temper  in  tempering  a  score  of  tools 
exactly  like  the  one  he  had  tempered  so  well.  The  idea  to 
be  kept  in  mind  in  tempering  edge  tools  is,  to  have  the  whole  steel 
tempered  so  as  to  make  a  good  cutting  edge  as  the  edge  wears 
away.  Tools  are  tempered  many  times  so  that  the  cutting  edge 
is  first-rate  until  one-fourth  of  an  inch  or  so  is  worn  off,  and 
then  they  become  poorer  and  poorer  as  the  edge  is  worn  away, 
when  they  are  worthless  until  they  are  re-tempered.  And  many 
times  the  first  edge  of  a  tool  is  very  poor ;  but  after  it  has  been 
ground  two  or  three  times  the  edge  will  continue  to  grow  better 
until  it  is  worn  out.  But  if  a  tool  is  tempered  as  it  should  be,*lt 
will  hold  as  good  an  edge  when  it  is  half  worn  out  as  it  did  when 
it  was  new. 

533.  When  a  piece  of  steel  is  heated  to  redness,  and  immedi 
ately  plunged  into  cold  water,  it  is  rendered  as  hard  as  it  can  be 
made,  and  as  brittle  as  a  file,  which  possesses  no  tenacity. 
When  steel  is  heated  to  certain  different  degrees  it  emits  differ 
ent  colors,  each  color  corresponding  to  the  different  degrees  of 
heat.  For  example :  if  we  heat  the  end  of  a  steel  bar,  or  chisel 
which  has  good  steel  on  the  end,  to  redness,  and  thrust  the  end 
into  cold  water  and  cool  it  for  an  inch  or  two  from  the  end,  if  the 
steel  is  not  rusty,  by  looking  attentively  at  the  steel  between  the 
hot  and  the  cold  steel  we  shall  discover  several  colors.  As  the 
cold  steel  is  being  heated  up,  a  kind  of  greyish  color  will  be  per 
ceived,  and  a  little  farther  towards  the  hot  part  of  the  tool  the 
steel  will  assume  a  kind  of  straw  color ;  and  between  this  color 
and  the  hot  portion  the  steel  will  assume  a  sky-blue  color.  Now 
when  all  these  colors  are  discovered  in  ordinary  steel,  if  the  whole 
were  plunged  into  cold  water  and  cooled,  those  parts  of  the  tool 
which  presented  different  colors  would  possess  different  degrees 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  373 

of  hardness.  If  the  cutting  edge  of  the  tool  were  formed  in  that 
part  which  presented  a  greyish-white  color,  it  would  be  so  hard 
that  it  would  not  retain  a  cutting  edge,  either  for  cutting  iron  or 
wood.  Now  if  this  hard  or  grey  portion  of  the  tool  were  ground 
off  until  the  cutting  edge  is  formed  in  that  part  which  was  of  a 
straw  color,  the  cutting  edge  would  usually  be  hard  and  tough, 
suitable  for  cutting  iron.  Now  grind  off  all  the  straw-colored 
portion,  so  that  the  cutting  edge  will  be  in  the  sky-llue  part,  and 
in  good  steel  we  would  have  an  edge  most  suitable  for  cutting 
wood.  Now  the  idea  always  is,  if  we  know  about  how  hard  it  is 
desired  to  have  the  steel  of  which  tools  are  made,  we  have  only 
to  heat  the  whole  tool  to  such  a  degree  of  heat  and  plunge  it 
into  cold  water,  when  the  entire  steel  will  possess  a  given  degree 
of  hardness.  Sometimes  one  kind  of  steel  must  necessarily  be 
made  a  little  harder  than  another  kind,  for  the  same  purpose ;  and 
sometimes  the  steel  of  which  a  tool  is  made  is  of  such  an  inferior 
q^felity  that  it  is  impossible  to  give  it  such  a  temper  as  will  retain 
a  good  cutting  edge.  Tools  are  sometimes  heated  to  redness,  and 
plunged  into  cold  water  and  partially  cooled,  and  then  heated  in 
the  fire  until  they  exhibit  the  desired  color,  when  they  are 
plunged  into  the  water  and  cooled.  Large  tools,  such  as  saws, 
scythes,  &c.,  are  heated  in  large  ovens  to  a  given  degree  of  heat, 
when  they  are  slipped  instantaneously  into  a  large  tank  of  oil  or 
water  to  cool  them. 

534.  Different  steel  requires  different  degrees  of  heat.  Now, 
when  the  young  farmer  has  an  axe  jumped,  or  a  pick  repaired,  he 
should  tell  the  workman  to  remember  and  note  the  cdlor  or  degree 
of  heat  at  which  the  edge  was  tempered,  and  if  the  edge  upon 
trial  proves  to  be  too  hard  or  too  soft,  if  he  is  a  skillful  work 
man  he  will  be  able  the  second  time  to  temper  the  edge  of  the 
desired  hardness  and  toughness.  I  find  that  almost  all  kinds  of  edge 
tools  as  the  cutting  edge  is  worn  off  become  softer,  and  will  not 
retain  an  edge  well.  I  heat  such  tools  in  a  charcoal — not  mineral 
coal — fire  to  redness ;  and  cool  about  two  inches  of  the  cutting 
edge,  and  then  if  it  is  desired  to  have  a  cold-chisel  edge,  cool  it 
just  as  the  straw-color  begins  to  appear  at  the  edge.  If  for  cut- 


374  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

ting  wood,  cool  it  just  as  the  sky-Hue  begins  to  cover  the  end. 
Should  it  be  too  hard  or  too  soft,  try  again.  Great  care  should 
be  exercised  in  heating  the  steel,  not  to  get  it  too  hot.  Steel  is 
often  injured  very  materially  by  being  heated  to  a  white  heat ; 
and  sometimes  if  steel  is  heated  a  little  too  hot,  it  is  spoiled  com 
pletely  for  good  edge  tools. 

535.  If  a  farmer  has  many  tools  to  be  tempered,  whoever 
tempers  them  should  use  charcoal  instead  of  mineral  coal  for 
heating  the  steel,   because  with  charcoal,  steel  is  heated  more 
gradually  and  uniformly  entirely  through  it ;  whereas,  the  heat  of 
mineral  coal  fire  being  so  intense,  the  steel  is  heated  too  hot  at 
the  surface  he/ore  it  is  sufficiently  heated  in  the  middle.     Conse 
quently,  it  is  quite  liable  to  be  injured  or   "  burned  "  by  too 
intense  heat.     No  good  manufacturer  of  edge  tools  will  work  in 
mineral  coal  fire  :  he  will  use  charcoal. 

536.  Our  common  blacksmiths  usually  work  in  mineral  coal 
fire,  and  they  seldom  get  half  as  good  temper  in  drills,  picks, 
and  such  like,  because  it  is  impossible  to  do  it  without  charcoal. 
I  can  always  obtain  a  better  temper  in  small  tools  by  heating 
them  in  a  common  stove,  than  our  ordinary  blacksmiths  can  in  a 
fire  of  mineral  coal. — Although  grinding  tools  is  the  next  opera 
tion  after  tempering  them,  it  is  necessary  to  have  the  grindstone 
in  good  order  first.     Therefore,  although  rather  out  of  place,  I 
shall  notice  here 

THE    GRINDSTONE. 

"  Noiselessly  the  grindstone's  standing 

In  the  willow's  cooling  shade  ; 
O'er  it  now  no  workman  's  bending, 

Grinding  up  his  tempered  blade. 
Faithful  grindstone  !  useful  grindstone  I 
Who  does  not  thy  service  prize."— EDWARDS. 

537.  Allow  me  to  see  a  farmer's  grindstone,  and  I  will  not  ask 
to  see  him,  nor  his  tools,  nor  his  farm,  nor  his  gates,  nor  his  fences  / 
and  I  will  "  grind  out "  for  you  his  traits  of  character  with  infal 
lible  certainty.     If  it  is  "  as  hard  as  a  nether  mill-stone,"  and 
hung  upon  a  wooden  crank,  and  supported  by  a  couple  of  old 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  375 

rails  set  against  the  fence,  or  on  two  stakes  driven  into  the 
ground,  and  bobs  up  and  down,  and  wabbles  sideways  when 
revolving,  like  an  old  rickety,  "drunken"  carriage- wheel,  and 
utters  a  mournful  squeak,  which  sounds  like  the  last  requiem  of 
an  old  dilapidated  New  England  ox-cart,  he  may  be  set  down  as 
a  slack,  unskillful,  unsuccessful,  thriftless,  penny-wise-and-pound- 
foolish  sort  of  a  nonentity,  who  does  not  take  an  agricultural 
journal ;  and  who  always  performs  every  job  just  as  if  he  felt 
that  his  time  was  consumed  to  no  good  purpose,  and  his  money 
thrown  away.  On  the  contrary,  if  the  grindstone  is  a  good  one, 
and  neatly  hung,  we  may  rest  assured  that  its  proprietor  will 
eventually  distinguish  himself  in  the  world — if  he  has  not  already 
done  so — as  a  thorough,  successful  and  worthy  citizen.  The 
grindstone  is  the  most  useful  implement  among  all  the  tools  of 
the  farm.  How  shall  we  put  all  our  tools  in  order  without  a 
good  grindstone?  Therefore,  because  of  its  great  utility  and 
efficiency,  it  must  of  necessity  be  itself  a  good  one,  and  be  in 
good  order. 

HOW    TO    SELECT   A    GOOD    GRINDSTONE. 

538.  A  good  grindstone  should  not  be  too  hard  nor  too  soft. 
If  it  is  too  hard,  it  will  require  a  long  time  to  grind  a  tool ;  and  if 
it  is  too  soft,  itself  will  wear  out  much  more  rapidly  than  it  will 
grind  a  tool.  For  ordinary  tools,  the  grit  should  not  be  too 
coarse  nor  too  fine.  Very  coarse  stones  are  used  for  grinding 
heavy  tools  with  coarse  edges.  (See  GRINDING  TOOLS,  Par. 
548.)  Grindstones  often  are  full  of  hard  spots  and  hard  streaks. 
Therefore,  the  young  farmer  should  always  purchase  a  grindstone 
on  trial,  and  if  it  should  be  found  to  have  no  hard  streaks  or 
spots  in  it,  if  the  grit  is  about  right,  it  will  doubtless  prove  to  be 
a  good  stone.  Select  one  for  ordinary  use,  which  weighs  about 
two  hundred  pounds.  It  is  impracticable  to  grind  tools  well  on 
a  stone  that  is  full  of  hard  spots  or  streaks.  Small  ones  may  be 
cut  out  with  a  cold-chisel,  but  as  a  general  rule  it  is  best  to  reject 
every  stone  that  has  hard  spots  in  it. 
16* 


376 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL, 


HANGING    THE    GRINDSTONE. 

539.  In  order  to  be  able  to  grind  tools  well,  the  stone  must 
run  as  true,  both  on  the  sides  and  edge,  as  a  circular  saw.     It  is  as 
impracticable  to  grind  tools  properly  on  a  stone  that  wabbles,  and 
lols  up  and  down,  as  it  would  be  for  a  miller  to  grind  grain  well 
with  the  mill-stones  in  bad  order,   or  not   balanced  correctly. 
Many  a  good  grass  scythe  or  cradle  scythe  has  been  condemned 
and  returned  to  the  manufacturer  as  not  having  a  good  temper, 
simply  because  it  could  not  be  properly  ground  on  that  miserable 
apology  for  a  grindstone. 

540.  There  are  various  modes  of  hanging  a  grindstone  true, 
but  I  shall  notice  in  this  place  only  one  of  them.     Grindstones 
will  often  wear  away  on  one  side  much  faster  than  on  the  other  side. 
In  such  a  case,  if  the  stone  is  wedged  on  with  wooden  wedges,  it 
must  be  unhung,  and  rehung  in  order  to  make  it  run  true.     But 

FIG.  148. 


! 


AN  IMPROVED  GBINDSTOKE  SHAFT. 


if  it  is  hung  on  a  shaft  with  collars,  as  a  circular  saw  is  hung,  it 
will  require  but  a  few  moments  to  wrahang  it,  and  rehang  it. 
There  are  grindstone  shafts  for  sale,  fitted  up  like  the  journals  of 
circular  saws,  with  collars  and  a  nut  to  fasten  the  stone.  But 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  377 

they  cost  several  dollars,  and  are  no  better  than  the  style  of 
shafts  represented  by  Fig.  148.  a  is  the  shaft,  not  less  than 
three  feet  long,  with  a  crank  at  each  end  of  it,  and  the  bea-ringS) 
b  b,  1^  inches  in  diameter  and  three  inches  long,  turned  smooth, 
with  a  collar,  e,  six  or  eight  inches  in  diameter,  cast  with  the 
shaft  having  a  square  key-hole  through  it  at  E.  Put  the  shaft 
in  the  eye  of  the  stone,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines,  against  the 
stationary  collar,  c,  and  put  a  loose  collar  like  c  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  stone,  and  drive  in  the  key  a  little.  Place  the  shaft 
on  the  frame,  and  if  it  does  not  revolve  true  on  the  side,  adjust 
it  with  a  few  thicknesses  of  paper,  or  with  a  piece  of  thin  leather. 
The  shaft  should  be  smaller  than  the  eye  in  the  stone,  so  that  it 
can  be  made  to  run  true  on  the  edge.  If  the  stone  is  too  thin 
for  the  space  between  the  collars,  put  in  a  thin  piece  of  board. 
Drive  with  a  hammer,  on  the  stationary  collar  to  the  right  or  left, 
and  not  on  the  surface  of  the  stone,  when  adjusting  it  to  run  true 
on  the  circumference.  With  such  a  shaft  a  grindstone  can  be 
well  hung  in  fifteen  minutes.  Do  not  drive  in  the  key  too  hard, 
because  it  requires  but  little  to  hold  a  stone.  If  the  shaft  of  a 
grindstone  is  short,  the  crank  is  always  in  the  way  when  grind 
ing  the  knives  on  cutter-bars,  grass  scythes,  axes,  &c. 

541.  Fig.  149  represents  a  grindstone  complete,  running  on  fric 
tion  rollers ;  although  if  the  bearings  of  the  shaft  are  neatly  polished 
it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  whether  there  are  any  friction  rollers 
or  not,  because  there  will  be  so  little  friction  at  the  bearings  that 
there  will  be  no  perceptible  difference  in  the  running  of  the  stone. 
The  bearings  of  my  grindstone  run  in  lead  boxes,  (see  FITTING 
UP  MACHINERY,  in  next  vol.,)  and  I  would  not  exchange  them 
for  friction  rollers,  a  is  the  frame,  made  of  3x3  scantling.  5  is 
the  water-trough,  which  should  be  well  smeared  on  the  inside 
with  coal  tar.  c  is  the  treadle,  by  which  the  grindstone  is  turned 
by  the  foot,  d  is  the  dash,  to  protect  the  workman  from  water. 
I  sometimes  place  a  board  on  each  side  of  the  stone,  to  turn  the 
water  into  the  trough  when  grinding.  When  a  stone  revolves  sq 
rapidly  that  it  will  throw  all  the  water  from  the  tpangh,  a  vesse] 
containing  water  may  be  suspended  above  it,  and  a  small  hole. 


378  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

FlG.    149. 


A   GRINDSTONE  WITH  CLAMP  FOR  HOLDING  TOOLS  WHILE  GRINDING  THEM. 

made  near  the  bottom  of  it  with  an  awl,  so  that  the  water  will 
drop  just  fast  enough  to  keep  the  stone  wet. 

542.  Grindstones  should  always  be  protected  from  the  influences 
of  the  weather,  and  especially  from  the  rays  of  the  summer's  sun. 
Sometimes  the  sun  will  affect  them  so  as  to  render  them  very 
hard  ;  and  sometimes  the  rain,  frost  and  sunshine  will  check  them, 
or  cause  them  to  crumble.     In  order  to  grind  edge  tools  correctly, 
the  workman  should   understand  very  well   the  difference   be 
tween  a 

CRUSHING    STROKE,    AND    A    DRAWING    OR    SLIDING    STROKE. 

543.  Edge  tools  of  every  description  operate  most  effectively 
by  being  drawn  diagonally  as  they  enter  the  materials  to  be  cut ; 
and  any  substance  can  be  cut  with  far  less  force  when  the  cutting 
instrument  is  made  to  operate  in  a  diagonal  direction   than  if  it 
were  forced  square  through  it.      When  a  cutting  instrument  is 
forced  straight  into  or  through  any  substance,  it  is  said  to  have  a 
crushing  stroke  ;  and  when  the  cutting  edge  is  made  to  enter,  and 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  379 

to  slide  along  as  it  enters,  the  stroke  is  called  a  sliding,  or  a 
drawing  stroke.  The  stroke  of  an  axe  is  a  crushing  stroke.  A 
chisel  in  mortising,  an  auger  in  boring,  and  a  plane  in  planing, 
have  a  crushing  stroke.  A  sickle,  a  grass  scythe  and  cradle 
scythe,  have  a  drawing  stroke.  (See  SHARPENING  GRASS 
SCYTHES,  551.)  A  shaving  knife,  a  pocket  knife,  a  razor,  and 
many  other  instruments,  are  used  with  either  a  crushing  stroke  or 
a  drawing  stroke.  When  an  edge  tool  is  used  with  a  crushing 
stroke,  no  matter  what  the  substance  to  be  cut  may  be,  the  cutting 
edge  should  be  whetted  on  a  whetstone  that  will  produce  as  fine 
an  edge  as  possible.  An  edge  tool  that  has  a  coarse  edge  re 
quires  the  exercise  of  much  more  force  in  working  it  than  if  it 
had  a  very  fine  edge.  A  first-rate  chisel  will  not  work  at  all 
well  in  mortising  dry,  soft  timber,  when  the  edge  is  coarse.  But 
give  the  same  chisel  a  fine  edge  and  it  will  shave  like  a  razor. 
It  is  impossible  to  make  a  good  plane-iron  work  well  in  planing 
when  it  has  a  coarse  edge ;  but  give  it  a  fine  edge  and  one  can 
shove  it  in  very  hard  wood  with  ease.  For  cutting  wood  with 
any  instrument,  having  either  a  drawing  or  crushing  stroke,  and 
for  cutting  any  kind  of  metal,  either  with  a  drill,  or  turning  it 
with  any  kind  of  chisel,  or  for  planing  it,  the  cutting  edge  should 
be  whet  on  an  oil-stone  having  very  fine  grit.  The  cutters  of 
mowers  and  reapers  usually  operate  with  a  crushing  stroke ;  and 
they  require  a  very  fine  edge  in  order  to  have  them  work  with 
the  least  amount  of  force.  Edge  tools  that  are  used  with  a  draw 
ing  stroke  for  cutting  such  substances  as  cornstalks,  operate  much 
more  effectively  with  a  coarse  edge  than  if  it  were  very  fine.  A 
very  fine  edge  on  a  sickle  would  require  the  exercise  of  double 
the  strength  that  a  coarse  edge  requires.  But  any  edge  tool  for 
cutting  wood  having  the  serrature  of  the  edge  as  coarse  as  the 
edge  of  a  sickle,  would  require  more  than  twice  the  amount  of 
power  to  work  it  that  would  be  necessary  if  the  edge  were  very 
fine. 

544.  Straw-cutters,  and  some  kinds  of  shingle  machines,  the 
knives  of  which  are  attached  to  a  gate,  are  made  to  cut  with 
a  sliding  stroke  by  having  the  gate  work  diagonally  instead  of 


380  THE  YOUNG  FAKMEft's   MANUAL. 

playing  straight  up  and  down.  A  very  little  slide  or  draw  when 
an  instrument  is  cutting,  often  gives  it  more  efficiency  than  we 
are  wont  to  suppose. 

545.  When  a  young  lad  begins  to  whittle,  he  very  soon  learns, 
without  any  instruction,  to  give  the  knife  blade  a  diagonal  mo 
tion  across  the  stick.     In  using  a  drawing  knife  a  workman  soon 
learns,  when  shaving  a  hard  stick,  to  draw  the  knife  across  the 
stick,  as  he  draws  it  towards  him.     A  man  may  clasp  the  edge 
of  a  sharp  tool  or  razor  very  firmly  and  it  will  not  cut  his  hand, 
but  draw  the  instrument  or  hand  a  very  little,  and  with  one-fourth 
the  pressure  the  edge  will  enter  readily.      When  a  young  man 
first  begins  to  pass  the  razor  over  his  face,  he  often  finds  that 
even  with  a  good  razor  he  is  not  able  to  cut   his  down-like  beard 
unless  he  draws  his  razor;  and  even  then  some  of  it  is  so  very 
slim  and  limsy — like  the  down  on  a  young  gosling — that  it  will 
slip  between  the  serrature  of  the  edge.     (See  PUTTING    RAZORS 
IN  ORDER,  550.) 

546.  In  trimming  fruit-trees,  or  shrubs,  or  hedges,  if  the  cutting 
instrument  makes  a  crushing  cut,  more  than  twice  the  force  is  re 
quired  in  cutting  off  a  small  branch  than  is  necessary  when  it  is 
cut  with  a  sliding  stroke.     And  more  than  this,  the  work  is  much 
better,  and  more  neatly  performed,  if  the  cut  is  sliding. 

547.  Pruning  shears,  represented  at  Fig.  150,  by  having  a  slot 

FIG.    150. 


SLIDIXG-CUT  PRUNING   SHKARS. 


in  one  of  the  blades,  so  that  the  centre-pin  will  move  easily  back 
and  forth  in  it,  make  a  sliding  cut  when  cutting  off  branches,  or 


381 

the  long  hoofs  of  sheep.  Common  shears  make  a  crushing  cut ; 
but  when  this  kind  of  shears  is  opened,  the  connecting  rod,  in 
closing  them,  slides  one  blade  along,  so  that  the  centre  is  at  the 
other  end  of  the  slot.  They  can  be  obtained  at  Allen's  Agricul 
tural  Warehouse,  89  Water  street,  N.  Y.  city. 

GRINDING    EDGE    TOOLS. 

"  The  flashing  knives  upou  the  grinding  disk 
Are  held,  with  grating  and  discordant  sound." — T.  B.  READ. 

548.  The  young  farmer  doubtless  understands  that  the  process 
of  grinding  and  whetting  tools  is  performed  very  similar  to  re 
ducing  the  thickness  of  a  board,  by  planing  it  with  a  gouge- 
shaped  plane.     The  grit  of  the  stone  enters  the  steel,  and  scratches 
numerous  little  furrows  in  it,  removing  the  metal  as  soon  as  it  is 
cut  loose.     If  the  grit  is  coarse,  the  scratches  will  be  much  deeper 
and  wider,  and  farther  apart  than  if  the  grit  is  fine.     If  the 
scratches  extend  to  the  cutting  edge  of  the  tool,  the  edge  will  be 
full  of  serrature,  coarse  or  fine,  corresponding  with  the  grit  of  the 
stone.     If  the  scratches  are  made  at  a  right  angle  with  the  cut 
ting  edge,  the  serrature  will  stand  at  a  right  angle  also.     But  if 
the  tool  when  grinding  is  held  in  such  a  position  that  the  scratches 
are  made  at  different  angles,  the  serrature  will  be  hooked,  or  stand 
at  the  same  angle  with  the  scratches  on  the  sides  of  the  tool. 
Now,  when  a  tool  is  designed  for  cutting  wood  or  iron,  or  any 
other  kind  of  hard  substances,  it  is  best  to  grind  it  and  whet  it 
while  it  is  held  in  such  a  position,  that  the  scratches  and  serra 
ture  will  stand  at  a  right  angle  with  the  cutting  edge,  whether 
the  tool  makes  a  crushing  cut  or  drawing  cut.     But  when  a  tool 
is  designed  for  cutting  soft,  spongy  substances,  and  is  used  with 
a  draw  cut,  it  should  be  ground  and  whet  so  that  the  serrature 
will  stand  at  an  acute  angle,  or  be  "  hooked." 

549.  Let  a  case-knife  be  ground  so  that  the  scratches  will  be 
at  an  angle  of  forty -five  degrees  towards  the  handle,  and  let  it  be 
whet  by  drawing  it  on  a  fine-gritted  stone,  from  heel  to  point 
across  the  stone,  and  attempt  to  cut  a  loaf  of  soft  bread  with  it. 
by  drawing  the  knife  towards  you,  and  if  the  knife  is  a  good  one 


382  THE   YOUNG   FARMERS   MANUAL. 

soft  bread  can  be  cut  neatly,  which  could  not  be  cut  with  a  crush 
ing  cut. 

550.  Sharpening  razors  is  a  job  which  every  man  ought  to 
understand.     If  a  man's  beard  is  very  fine,  and  the  serrature  of 
his  razor  almost  as  coarse  as  his  beard,  the   serrature  will  jerk 
from  beard  to  beard,   and  "pull  hair  "  intolerably  hard.     If  a 
razor  is  very  dull,  draw  it  fifty  times  or  so  on  a  very  fine-gritted 
oil-stone,  from  heel  to  point  across  the  stone,  with  sweet  oil  on 
it,  (see  Par.  565,)  and  then  strap  it  on  a  razor-strap  which  has 
three  or  four  sides,  each  being  a  little  finer  gritted.     There  is 
grit  in  wood  and  in  leather.     The  idea  is  to  make  the  serrature 
as  fine  as  possible.     Then,  as  the  beard  is  composed  of  the  same 
substance   as  our  finger  nails,  by  wetting   it  thoroughly,  and  by 
having  a  thick  lather  to  hold  the  ends  of  the  beard  from  vibrating, 
and  by  shaving  with  a  drawing  cut,  any  bachelor  whose  face  is 
tolerably  plump,  will  be  able  to  shave  his  beard  so  closely  and 
smoothly,  that  the  fair,  soft  cheek  of  the  belle  of  the  town,  when 
cheek  to  jole,  would  not  recoil  on  account  of  the  "  prickers." 
It  will  not  dull  a  razor  half  as  much  to  cut  wet  beard  as  it  does 
to  cut  dry  beard. 

GRINDING  GRASS    SCYTHES   AND    CRADLE    SCYTHES. 
"  They  sharp  their  blades  with  many  a  shrill  che-whet." — READ. 

551.  "When  scythes  are  handled  most  correctly,  they  make  a 
sliding  cut ;  therefore,  in  order  to  have  them  "  take  hold  "  of  the 
grass  or  straw,  the  serrature  of  the  edge  should  stand  towards 
the  point,  or  in  an  opposite  direction  from  the  serrature  of  a  grain 
sickle,  which  stand  towards  the  handle.     Now,  in  order  to  have 
the  serrature  all  standing  at  the  proper  angle,  and  hooked  towards 
the  point,  both  sides  of  the  blade  must  be  ground  and  whet,  so 
that  all  the  scratches  will  be  diagonally  across  the  basil  of  the 
blade,  from  heel  to  point,  as  represented  by  Fig.   151,  which 
exhibits  a  microscopic  view  of  a  well-ground  scythe. 

552.  Now,  with  one   hand  holding  the    heel  of   the  scythe 
firmly,  so  that  it  cannot  rock  either  way,  and   with  the  other 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  383 

hand  towards  the  point,  hold  the  scythe  on  the  grindstone,  with 
the  edge  towards  you,  so  that  the  scratches  of  the  grindstone 
will  be  at  about  an  angle  of  forty -five  degrees  with  the  cutting 
edge,  as  shown  in  the  figure.  Move  the  scythe  gradually  from 
heel  to  point  when  grinding,  and  grind  clear  to  the  point  at  just 

FIG.  151. 


A  MICROSCOPIC  VIEW   OF  THE  EDGE   OF  A  SCYTHE   IN  GOOD   ORDER. 

such  an  angle.  After  grinding  one  side  in  part,  remain  in  the 
same  position,  and  turn  the  scythe  over,  taking  the  heel  of  it  in 
the  other  hand,  and  grind  that  side  at  the  same  angle  clear  to  the 
point.  Grind  no  more  on  one  side  of  a  scythe  than  on  the  other. 

553.  Always  hold  a  scythe   so  that  the  stone  will  revolve 
towards  the  edge,  and  never  from  it ;   because,  when  a  stone  re 
volves  towards  the   edge,  it  cuts  the    steel  smooth   and  clean 
entirely  to  the  edge,  and  a  workman  can  see  distinctly  when  a 
tool  is  ground  up  to  a  good  edge.     But  when  a  stone  revolves 
from  the  edge,  if  a  tool  is  not  very  hard,  the  steel  will  not  be 
swept  clean  from  the   edge,  but  a  very  thin  stratum  of  it  will 
hang  to  the   edge,  sometimes  more  than  a  sixteenth  of  an  inch 
wide,  which  will  all   come   off  when  the  tool  is  whet.     And 
besides,  when  grinding  a  very  wide  cradle-scythe,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  grind  it  in  a  proper  manner,  if   the  grindstone 
revolves  in  the  direction  from  the  lack  to  'the  cutting  edge.     Let 
a  workman  of  but  little  experience  grind  up  a  new  cradle-scythe 
by  grinding  from  the  edge,  and  if  he  does  not  grind  it  so  thin 
as  to  spoil  it,  he  will  be  an  exception  to  the  general  rule. 

554.  I  once   had  a  young  man  in  my  employ  who  knew  far 
more  than  I  about  grinding  up  new  scythes,  who  ground  from 
the  edge,  and  reduced  the  basil  of  the  scythe  so  thin  for  half  an 
inch  back  of  the  cutting  edge,  that  it  would  not  retain  an  edge 


384  THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

to  cut  grain  one  rod,  but  would  crumble  like  a  thin  plate  of  cast- 
iron.  No  good  scythe  will  retain  a  good  edge  for  any  reasonable 
length  of  time  if  it  is  ground  too  thin. 

555.  If  a  scythe  is  ground  square  across  the  basil,  the  serra- 
ture  will  stand  at  a  right  angle  with  the  cutting  edge  ;    and  a 
workman  win  be  obliged  to  exert  more  force  when  using  it  to 
make  it  cut  well.     If  the  scythe  is  ground  so  that  the  scratches 
on  the  basil  and  the  serrature  are  made  in  the  opposite  direction 
from  those  in  the  preceding  figure,  a  scythe  will  not  cut  grass  or 
grain  near  as  well  as  if  made  as  shown  in  the  figure.     A  work 
man,  when  grinding  a  scythe,  should  avoid  rolling  and  rocking  a 
scythe  on  the  stone,  because  such  a  motion  will  make  the  surface 
of  the  basil  circular  or  convex,  and  the  cutting  edge  will  be  very 
blunt.     Avoid  also  letting  the  grindstone  catch  the   edge,  as  it 
will  round  it  off  so  much  that  a  rifle  or  rubstone  will  not  touch 
the  edge. 

556.  Whetting  scythes  requires  more  judgment  and  skill  than 
to  whet  a  razor.     To  whet  a  scythe  correctly,  set  it  up  before 
you  on  the  small  end  of  the  snath,  and  move  the  rifle  from  heel 
to  point  slowly  and  alternately  on  each  side  of  the  scythe,  draw 
ing  the  hand  downwards  as  it  is  thrust  forward,  so  as  to  make  very 
fine  scratches  on  the  basil,  in  the  same  direction  of  those  which 
are  made  by  the  grindstone.     Stop  the  rifle  suddenly  and  see  if 
you  do  not  whet  too  rounding  on  one  or  both  sides.     No  scythe 
will  cut  well  if  it  is  whet  too  rounding  or  blunt.     The  idea  is,  to 
hold  the  rifle  in  such  a  position  that  it  will  sharpen  the  cutting 
edge,  and  lie  fiat  on  ike  basil  when  it  is  on  either  side  of  the  scythe. 
If  a  rifle  is  not  held  in  a  correct  position,  the  more  a  laborer 
whets  his  scythe  the  worse  he  makes  it.     Boys,  and  some  men, 
too,  when  whetting  their  scythes,  will  thwack  away  with  all  their 
might,  sometimes  hitting  the  back  of  the  scythe,  and  sometimes 
making  a  very  rounding  stroke  on  the  edge,    and  sometimes  the 
rifle  will  not  touch  the  edge  on  either  side,  and  sometimes  a  care 
less  stroke  backwards  will  remove  more  good  edge  than  can  be 
restored  by  whetting  half  an  hour. 

557.  More  good  scythes  are  spoiled  and  worn  out,  and  rendered 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER^  MANUAL.  385 

useless  by  improper  grinding  and  careless  whetting,  than  by  all 
the  grass  and  grain  which  they  cut.  Let  a  man  who  understands 
well  how  to  grind  and  to  whet  scythes,  have  a  good  scythe,  and 
he  will  wear  it  out  by  cutting  grain  or  grass,  and  not  by  whetting 
it.  Good  scythes,  when  properly  ground,  do  not  need  to  be  whet 
every  ten  rods.  When  I  see  laborers  whetting  their  scythes  at 
every  ten  rods,  the  conclusion  is  a  correct  one,  that  they  have 
poor  scythes,  or  that  they  do  not  know  how  to  whet  them  correctly, 
or  that  they  prefer  "  to  stop  and  whet  "  to  using  them.  I  have 
often  cut  around  a  ten-acre  field  without  whetting  my  scythe ; 
and  I  always  observed,  even  when  I  was  in  my  teens,  when 
mowing  or  cradling  with  a  lot  of  hands,  that  they  could  not  cut 
as  far  as  I  did  without  whetting,  and  cut  it  well. 

558.  Different  scythes  require  rifles  and   rubstones  of  different 
grit.     Sometimes  a  new  rifle  will  produce  too  coarse  a  serrature 
on   the   edge,  and  sometimes  a  new  rifle   will  produce  an  edge 
which  a   rubstone  or  old   rifle  will   not.      And   sometimes   an 
old  rifle  which  is  about  worn  out,  will  give  a  scythe  a  keener 
edge  than  anything  else.     If  a  scythe  is  rather  soft,  keep  rub- 
stones  and  coarse  rifles  off7  it,  and  use  some  old  rifle  nearly  worn 
out.     The  grit  of  both  rifles  and  rubstones  should  be  very  fine, 
in  order  to  form  a  keen  edge. 

CLAMPS   FOR   HOLDING    EDGE    TOOLS   WHILE    GRINDING    THEM. 

559.  At  edge-tool  manufactories,  different  styles  of  clamps  are 
used  for  holding  edge  tools  on  the  grindstone,  so  that  a  workman 
can  grind  the  basil  of  any  tool  very  true  at  any  desired  angle, 
by  the  application  of  a  little  strength.     But  common  farmers  do 
not  always  feel  willing  to  expend  several  dollars  for  a  clamp 
which  they  will  not  use  but  a  few  times  in  a  year.     Every  one 
who  has  ever  ground  many  tools,  knows  that  it  is  a  very  difficult 
and  laborious  job  to  grind  up  some  kinds  of  tools  while  holding 
them  with  the  hands  alone. 

560.  To  facilitate  the  grinding  of  small  edge  tools,  like  knives 
of  straw-cutters,  or  any  knives  which  are  difficult  to  hold  in  the 
hand,  I  have  been  accustomed  to  use  a  very  cheap  but  efficient 


386  THE    YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

clamp,  shown  at  Fig.  149.  E  is  a  board  ten  inches  wide,  bolted 
to  the  frame  a,  with  the  bolts  put  through  slots  or  mortises  in  E, 
so  that  it  may  be  raised  or  slid  along  to  the  right  or  left.  F  is 
a  square  stick  fitted  to  a  mortise  in  J57,  and  extending  from  E 
across  the  grindstone.  With  wood-screws  or  small  iron  bolts, 
fasten  a  straw-cutter  knife  to  the  under  side  of  the  handle  f] 
and  place  it  on  the  grindstone  with  the  handle  in  the  mortise  E, 
and  adjust  the  board  E  so  that  the  knife  will  rest  on  the  stone  at 
the  desired  angle,  and  fasten  E  with  the  bolts.  As  the  grind 
stone  revolves,  slide  the  knife  across  the  stone  back  and  forth  by 
taking  hold  of  F.  The  handle  may  be  four  or  five  feet  long, 
and  if  it  fits  the  mortise  well,  a  knife  can  be  ground  as  true  as 
is  practicable  with  any  other  clamp.  With  only  one  hand  a 
man  can  set  a  span  of  horses  with  ease. 

THE  MOST  PROPER  ANGLE  FOR  THE  BASIL  OP  TOOLS 

561.  Is  a  subject  in  relation  to  which  the  opinions  of  all  good 
mechanics  coincide  very  well.     The  more  acute  the  angle  of  the 
basil  is.  the  less  will  be  the  force  required  to  make  it  cut.     But 
when  tools  are  used  for  prying  as  well  as  for  cutting,  the  angle 
of  the  basil  must  be  more  obtuse  than  if  the  tool  is  designed  sim 
ply  for  cutting.     The  angle  of  the  basil  of  a  scythe  is  usually 
about  five  degrees — very  acute. 

562.  Fig.  152  represents  a  side  view  of  a  cold-chisel,  which 
every  farmer  needs.     If  no  old  file  is  at  hand,  purchase  a  piece 
of  octagonal  steel,  and  have  one  end  forged  like  the  figure,  and 
tempered,  and  then  grind  the  edge  on  both  sides,  as  shown  in 
the  figure,  at  an  angle  of  about  twenty -five  degrees. 

563.  Framing   chisels,   and   plane-irons,   and  drawing-knives, 
and  knives  for  straw-cutters,  &c.,  I  usually  grind  at  an  angle  of 
about  twenty  degrees.     And   even  when  plane-irons  and   chisels 
are  ground  at  an  angle  of  twenty  degrees,  the   edge  will  not 
stand  when  cutting  hemlock  knots,  and  such  like,  unless  they 
are  made  of  superior  steel.     All  such  tools  should  be  held  on  the 
grindstone,  so  that  the  scratches  and  serrature  will  be  at  a  right 
angle  to  the  cutting  edge. 


THE  YOUNG  FAKMEK'S  MANUAL. 
FlG.    152. 


387 


SHOWING  THE  PROPER  ANGLE  FOR  GRINDING  COLD-OHISELS. 

564.  The  knives  of  mowers  and  reapers  usually  cut  with  a 
crushing  stroke.  Therefore,  the  more  acute  the  angle  of  the 
basil  the  more  easily  they  cut.  But  if  they  are  ground  too  thin 
they  are  more  liable  to  be  dulled  by  breaking  out  at  the  edge, 
than  if  they  were  ground  at  a  more  obtuse  angle.  All  things 
considered,  if  such  knives  are  ground  at  an  angle  of  twenty  de 
grees,  the  basil  will  be  acute  enough  for  all  kinds  of  work. 


OIL-STONES 

565.  Are  almost  as  indispensable  as  a  grindstone.  Indeed,  it 
is  very  impracticable  to  produce  a  fine,  keen  edge  without  one. 
They  may  be  obtained  at  the  hardware  stores  for  about  fifteen 
cents.  Set  it  in  a  wooden  block,  and  use  sweet  oil  on  it  when 
whetting  a  tool  instead  of  water,  because  oil  will  aid  in  giving  a 
tool  a  keener  edge.  Nail  a  strap  of  old  leather  on  one  side  of 
the  oil-stone  case,  and  after  a  chisel  or  plane -iron  has  been  whet, 


388 

strap  it  a  little  on  the  leather,  and  if  the  steel  is  good  and  prop 
erly  tempered,  it  will  clip  a  hair. 

SHARPENING   SHEAES 

566.  Is  a  very  short  job.     Fig.  153  represents  a  transverse 
section  of  one  of  the  shear  blades  ground  at  a  proper  angle. 

FIG.  153. 


\ 


V 


A  TRANSVERSE  SECTION  OF  A  8HEAB  BLADE  PBOPERLT  QEOtTNI). 

Never  grind  any  shears  on  the  flat  side  of  the  blade.  The 
grindstone  should  run  very  true,  and  the  blade  should  be  held 
square  across  it  as  it  revolves  towards  the  edge.  If  the  edges  of 
the  blades  have  become  worn  off  on  the  flat  side  where  they 
cut,  they  must  be  ground  off  on  the  edge — not  on  the  flat  side — 
until  the  flat  side  is  most  prominent  at  the  cutting  edge.  Whet 
sheep-shears  and  wife's  shears  on  an  oil-stone,  and  if  they  will 
cut  wet  newspaper  they  are  in  good  order.  If  shears  are  ground 
at  an  angle  as  acute  as  chisels,  in  cutting  thick  hard  substances 
the  edge  would  yield  bv  bending  or  breaking. 

BENCH    PLANES. 

567.  A  farmer  needs  a  good  set  of   planes,  consisting  of  a 
jack-plane  for  rough  work,   a  fore-plane  or  short-jointer,  larger 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  389 

than  the  jack-plane,  for  dressing  stuff  truer  than  can  be  done 
with  the  jack ;  a  jointer,  for  making  straight  work,  and  a  smooth- 
ing-plane,  for  smoothing  boards  when  it  is  not  necessary  to  joint 
them. 

568.  Select  planes  that  are  made  of  good  white  beech,  in  pref 
erence  to  any  other  wood.      Apple-wood  and  cast-iron  planes 
shove  much  harder  than  beech  planes,  because  they  set  so  close 
to  the  stuff  which  is  being  planed.     See  that  the   grain  of  the 
wood  runs  up  and  down,  and  not  parallel  with  the  face  of  them. 
Before  they  are  used  they  should  be  thoroughly  soaked  in  linseed 
oil,  to  render  them  more  durable  and  heavy,  as  a  workman  will 
usually  be  able  to  plane  more  easily  with  a  heavy  plane  than  with 
a  light  one. 

569.  The  face  of  a  good  plane  must  always  be  very  true,  not 
hollowing,  nor  rounding,  nor  winding.     They  are  very  liable  to 
wear  untrue, — when  they  must  be  "faced  off"  with  a   jointer, 
similar  to  the  manner  of  dressing  out  a  gate   stile.     (See  Par. 
240.)     New  planes  are  very  apt  to  be  winding  on  the  face. 
When  they  are  so  they  must  be  faced  true. 

570.  Planes  with  double  irons  are  best,  because  with  them  we 
can  plane  smoothly  cross-grained  or  eaty  timber.     But  it  is  not 
practicable  to  do  so  with  a  plane  having  a  single  iron.     The 
adjustable  iron  or  cap  is  designed  to  break  the   shaving  when 
planing,  by  turning  it  at  so  short  an  angle  that  slivers  cannot  be 
torn  up  as  they  often  are  with  a  single  iron.     In  planing  straight- 
grained  timber,  a  single  iron  is  preferable. 

PUTTING  PLANES  IN  GOOD  ORDER 

571.  Is  a  job  that  every  wood-mangier  is  not  able  to  perform. 
If  the  irons  or  bits  are  not  ground  correctly  and  whet  on  a  fine 
stone,  no  man  can  plane  well.     Fig.  154   represents  a  view  of 
the  face  side  of  a  jack-plane  iron.     Hold  it  in  grinding  so  that 
the  grindstone  will  revolve  towards  the  edge,  and  grind  the  basil 
at  an  angle  of  about  twenty  degrees,  if  the  stuff  to  be  planed  is 
hard  and  knotty.     (See  Fig.  152.)     Set  the  bevel  square  at  the 
desired  angle,  and  try  the  angle  when  grinding.     Grind  it  about 


890  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

FIG.   154. 


SHAPE    OF    TUB    EDGE   OF    A   JACK-PLANE   IRON. 

as  circular  on  the  edge,  from  corner  to  corner,  as  the  figure. 
Place  the  try-square  against  one  of  the  edges  of  the  iron,  to  see 
if  one  corner  is  not  being  ground  off  too  much,  as  shown  by  the 
dotted  line.  If  a  jack-plane  iron  is  ground  straight  on  the  edge, 
as  shown  by  the  dotted  line,  it  will  cut  a  shaving  so  wide  that 
the  plane  will  choke  or  clog.  The  edge  should  be  ground  on  as 
true  a  circle  as  is  practicable,  from  corner  to  corner,  and  if  the 
basil  should  be  found  upon  trial  to  be  too  thin  for  planing  hard 
and  knotty  stuff,  let  it  be  ground  a  little  more  blunt. 

572.  Fig.  155  shows  the  correct  form  for  the  jointer  and 
smoothing-plane  irons.  The  edge,  from  corner  to  corner,  should 
be  ground  convex  but  little.  If  it  is  ground  very  true,  and  the 
middle  is  about  one-thirtieth  of  an  inch  more  prominent  than  the 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 
FlG.    155. 


391 


SHAPE    OF   THE   EDGE   OF  THE  JOINTER   IRON. 

corners,  it  will  work  well,  and  the  plane  ridges  will  be  hardly 
perceptible.  In  order  to  plane  smooth,  the  irons  must  be  as 
straight  on  the  edge  as  they  can  be,  and  not  make  a  square  cut 
at  their  corners,  for  if  they  do  they  are  very  liable  to  choke 
or  clog.  In  order  to  plane  well,  the  edge  must  cut  like  a  razor. 
(See  OIL-STONE,  Par.  565.) 

ADJUSTING    THE    PLANE    BITS 

573.  Requires  considerable  skill  in  order  to  do  it  just  right 
when  it  is  done  with  a  wedge.      There  are  in  limited  use  several 
patent  arrangements  for  adjusting  plane  bits,  but  they  increase 
17 


392  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

the  cost  to  such  an  extent  that  ordinary  mechanics  are  not  will 
ing  to  purchase  them.  The  old  way  of  adjusting  and  key 
ing  them  with  a  wedge  is  good  enough  for  any  mechanic,  and 
will  without  any  doubt  supplant  and  triumph  over  every  other 
mode  of  adjustment. 

574.  Set  the  plane  on  the  hind  end,  holding  it  erect  with  the 
left  hand,  with  the  left  thumb  in  the  throat,  placed  on  the  face  of 
the  bit.     Rest  the  fore  end  against  your  chin  and  look  lengthways 
of  the  face  of  the  plane,  and  put  the  plane  iron  through  the  throat 
until  the  eye  can  just  see  a  little  of  the  edge.     Hold  it  then  with 
the  left  thumb  while  the  wedge  is  crowded  in  with  the  right  hand. 
A  light  tap  with  the  hammer  will  fasten  it.       Never  drive  in 
the  wedges  as  if  they  were  never  to  be  again  withdrawn.     Try 
the  plane ;  and  with  light  taps  with  the  hammer  start  it  in  until 
it  cuts  deep  enough.      For  planing  cross-grained,  eaty  timber, 
sharpen  the  bit,  and  set  the  cap  or  shaving  breaker  (see  Par. 
570)  as  close  to  the  cutting  edge  of  the  bit  as  practicable.     To 
withdraw  the  bit,  hold  the  plane  with  one  hand,  with  the  thumb 
in  the  throat  at  the  lower  edge  of  the  wedge.     Press  upward  with 
the  thumb  on  the  wedge  as  you  strike  on  the  fore   part  of  the 
plane,  on  a  rivet  head  which  is  put  in  the  plane  to  hammer  on. 
Or  turn  the  plane  upside  down,  and  withdraw  the  wedge  and  bit 
with  one  hand,  by  thumping  the  plane  downwards  on  the  bench. 

575.  Mechanics  many  times  dispose  of  their  old  planes  because 
the  mouth  is  too  wide.     Such  a  defect  may  be  obviated  by  set 
ting  a  piece  of  band  iron  in  the  face  of  the  plane  so  that  the 
mouth  will  admit  only  a  thin  shaving.      When  planing  straight- 
grained  stuff,  raise  the  cap,  or  shaving  breaker;  because  more 
force  is  required  to  shove  a  plane  when  the  shaving  breaker  is 
set  near  the  edge  of  the  bit.     If  a  wedge  is  driven  in  very  hard 
in  keying  the  bit,  there  is  danger  of  springing  the  plane. 

THE  WAY  TO  PLANE  A  BOARD  TRUE  AND  SMOOTH. 

576.  If  a  board  is  pretty  true,  not  warped  nor  winding,  it  is  a 
short  job  to  plane  it.     Lay  it  on  the  work-bench,  with  one  edge 
about  even  with   the  front  side  of  the  bench.     With   the  jack- 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL.  393 

plane,  well  sharpened,  commence  at  the  end  of  the  board,  and 
shove  the  plane  at  the  first  stroke  along  the  edge  of  the  board 
nearest  to  you  about  two  or  three  feet.  Cut  another  shaving  now 
a  little  farther  on  the  board,  and  then  another,  until  you  have 
planed  entirely  across  the  end  of  the  board.  Now  step  along 
and  plane  about  three  feet  in  length  more  of  the  board,  and  so  on 
until  the  whole  board  is  planed.  Now  go  over  it  with  the  smooth- 
ing-plane  in  the  same  manner  as  was  done  with  the  jack-plane. 
Make  as  long  strokes  as  you  can  conveniently  without  stepping 
forward.  Endeavor  to  avoid  this  planing  at  random,  as  many 
workmen  often  do ;  and  be  very  careful  not  to  plane  off  the  sides 
of  the  board  more  than  the  middle.  A  few  random,  careless 
strokes  with  a  plane  near  the  edge  of  a  board,  will  in  some  in 
stances  make  the  side  of  it  so  uneven  that  the  entire  board  must 
be  dressed  down  even  with  the  deep  cuts ;  which  might  consume 
nearly  half  an  hour  of  time.  Let  the  sides  at  the  edges  of  the 
board  be  left  a  shaving  or  so  the  highest,  if  anything,  until  the 
finishing  strokes  are  applied,  when  it  will  be  found  much  easier 
to  plane  the  sides  down  even  with  the  middle  than  it  is  to  plane 
the  middle  down  even  with  the  sides.  If  the  face  of  a  board  is 
required  to  be  straight,  after  it  has  been  jacked  off  with  the  jack- 
plane  the  fore-plane  or  short-jointer  should  follow  the  jack-plane, 
and  after  the  short-jointer  use  the  long-jointer.  When  the  board 
is  cross-grained,  and  cannot  be  planed  smooth  by  shoving  the 
plane  one  way,  the  tyro  should  learn  to  plane  in  an  opposite  di 
rection.  After  the  face  of  a  board  has  been  dressed  with  the 
short-jointer  as  smooth  and  true  as  seems  to  be  practicable  by 
shoving  the  planes  forward,  or  lengthways  of  the  board,  if  there 
are  numerous  ridges  made  by  the  plane  it  shows  that  the  edge  of 
the  plane  iron  is  too  circular,  or  convex,  from  one  corner  to  the  other. 
Sometimes,  after  a  board  has  been  dressed  pretty  true,  it  is  best 
to  plane  crossways  of  it,  cutting  a  thin  shaving,  after  which  it 
must  be  planed  lengthways,  cutting  a  very  thin  shaving.  It  is 
just  as  well,  in  planing  timber  which  is  not  "  eaty  "  or  cross- 
grained,  to  cut  a  thick  shaving  at  first  as  it  is  to  take  a  very  thin 
one.  But  in  finishing  it,  in  order  to  leave  it  true,  and  destitute 


394  THE   YOUNG  FAKMER'S  MANUAL. 

of  plane  ridges,  it  must  be  done  by  taking  a  very  thin  shaving. 
When  a  board  is  very  rough,  and  covered  with  a  mat  of  fine 
slivers,  resembling  wool  more  than  wood,  which  is  often  the  case 
with  baswood  and  other  soft  woods  when  the  boards  have  been 
sawed  with  a  dull  saw,  the  jack-plane  iron  must  be  very  sharp  or 
it  will  not  cut  these  fine  slivers  when  planing  lengthways  of  the 
timber.  When  such  is  the  case,  it  will  be  well  to  try  planing 
crossways  of  the  grain  until  the  board  is  jacked  off.  Sometimes 
one  can  cut  a  very  thick  shaving  with  a  jack-plane,  and  thus  take 
off  all  the  fine  slivers  at  one  planing  much  better  than  to  cut  only 
a  thin  shaving.  In  planing  hard  wood,  if  the  boards  are  not  pretty 
true  it  is  best  to  plane  crossways  with  the  jack-plane  until  the 
short-jointer  or  smoothing-plane  can  be  used  to  plane  lengthways. 
If  a  board  is  warped,  or  is  winding,  it  can  usually  be  made 
true  more  easily  by  planing  it  crossways  first,  and  then  planing 
lengthways.  In  planing  crossways  of  a  board,  the  tyro  must  be 
careful  to  turn  up  his  plane  or  make  the  shaving  run  out  just  be 
fore  the  cutting  edge  of  the  iron  arrives  at  the  opposite  side 
of  the  board;  otherwise,  instead  of  cutting  a  smooth  shaving 
entirely  across  the  board,  it  will  split  a  sliver  from  the  opposite 
corner,  and  mar  the  face  of  the  board  at  the  corner.  In  plan 
ing  off  long  boards,  if  they  are  a  very  little  winding  they  mar 
be  dressed  out  winding;  but  when  a  workman  intends  mukimr  ;;, 
bee-hive,  or  chest,  or  nice  box,  the  side  boards  and  end  boards  must 
not  be  winding.  If  they  are  dressed  out  winding,  the  whole  b<-x 
is  liable  to  be  winding,  unless  the  boards  of  two  opposite  sides 
wind  equally  towards  each  other,  or  from  each  other,  when  they 
are  placed  side  by  side.  The  tyro  will  perhaps  find  it  much 
more  difficult  to  plane  a  board  true  and  smooth  that  is  but  one 
foot  long  than  to  plane  one  that  is  two  or  three  feet  in  length  ; 
because  beginners  at  planing  usually  cut  a  thicker  shaving  at  each 
end  of  the  board,  in  consequence  of  not  keeping  their  plane  level 
on  the  board.  When  the  iron  begins  to  cut  at  the  end  of  the 
board,  the  forward  end  of  the  plane  must  be  held  down  firmly  un 
til,  it  arrives  at  the  other  end  of  the  board,  when  the  hindmost  end 
of  the  plane  must  be  kept  down  until  the  plane  iron  is  beyond  the 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  395 

end  of  the  board.    This  last  direction  is  very  important  in  jointing 
or  planing  the  edges  of  boards,  in  order  to  have  them  straight. 

577.  When  one  side  of  a  board  is  planed  true,  which  may  be 
determined  by  holding  the  straight  edge  of  a  steel  square  across 
it,  if  the  board  is  to  be  planed  on  both  sides,  and  brought  to  an 
even  thickness,  run  a  gauge-mark  along  the  edges  and  across  the 
ends,  and  then  plane  it  down  with  the  jack-plane  almost  to  the 
mark  near  the  edges  of  the  board  first ;  and  then  plane  down  the 
middle,  and  be  very  careful  and  not  plane  the  middle  lower  than 
the  sides    are.       Plane    crossways    or   lengthways    as    already 
directed ;  but  do  not  try  to  plane  with  an  iron  that  has  not  a 
sharp  edge,  because  with  a  dull  plane  iron  the  tyro  will  do  poor 
work.     Sharpen  the  plane  irons  very  often  in  order  to  plane  true 
and  smooth.     Sometimes  the  grain  of  about  half  of  the  board  runs 
in  a  contrary  direction  from  the  other  half.      In  such  a  case  the 
board  must  be  turned  the  other  end  forward,  or  the  workman 
may  shove  his  plane  with  the  other  hand  in  an  opposite  direction. 
Good  workmen  accustom  themselves  to  shoving  the  plane  both 
ways,  as  it  is  often  much  more  convenient  to  plane  the  other 
way  than  it  is  to  change  ends  with  a  board. 

578.  In  planing  some  kinds  of  hard  timber  that  is  eaty,  tough, 
and  with  the  grain  doubled  and  twisted,  it  is  necessary  to  take  a 
very  thin  shaving.     And  even  then,  should  the  throat  of  the 
plane  be  rather  large,  one  cannot  plane  smooth.     If  the  plane 
iron  be  a  double  one,  the  cap  or  shaving-breaker  must  be  set  as 
close  down  to  the  edge  of  the  cutting  iron  as  it  can  be,  and  not 
prevent  its  cutting  a  shaving.     In  such  a  case  the  iron  must  be 
very  sharp  or  the  workman  cannot  plane  at  all.     The  nearer 
the  shaving-breaker  is  to  the  edge  of  the  plane  iron,  the  greater 
will  be  the  force  required  to  shove  the  plane.     If  the  grain  of  a 
stick  be  very  straight  and  not  eaty,  the  shaving-breaker  may  be 
raised  one-fourth  of  an  inch  from  the  cutting  edge  of  the  piano 
iron,  as  it  will  plane  just  as  smooth,  and  much  easier. 

JOINTING   BOARDS   AND    PLANK. 

579.  Let  the  board  be  put  in  the  vise  on  the  edge,  vertically, 


396 

not  leaning  to  or  from  you,  and  have  it  as  low,  if  possible,  as 
the  top  of  the  bench ;  because  one  cannot  plane  well  when  he  is 
obliged  to  hold  his  plane  on  a  board  as  high  as  his  arm-pits. 
Jack  off  the  edge  the  entire  length,  and  then  look  over  it  to  see 
where  it  is  a  little  the  highest  or  lowest,  and  jack  the  high  places 
until  the  edge  looks  about  straight,  and  then  apply  the  jointer.  Be 
careful  to  keep  the  edge  of  the  board  at  a  right  angle  with  the  side 
by  using  the  try-square.  In  jointing  a  board  or  plank,  beginners 
— and  many  old  workmen,  too — plane  off  the  edges  near  the 
ends,  in  starting  their  plane  and  in  running  out,  so  that  the  edges 
are  convex  from  end  to  end.  When  a  workman  is  apt  to  fall  into 
this  error  in  jointing,  he  should  not  allow  his  plane  to  cut  within 
a  foot  of  the  end,  until  it  seems  highest  at  the  end.  Some  work 
men  think  if  they  cut  a  shaving  the  entire  length  of  a  board  it 
must  be  straight.  But  one  may  plane  a  shaving  the  entire 
length  of  a  short  or  long  board,  and  it  may  not  be  straight  by 
half  an  inch.  When  the  workman  cannot  tell  by  a  glance  of 
the  eye  over  the  edge  of  a  board  whether  it  is  straight  or 
not,  he  had  better,  if  the  edge  of  a  board  is  a  little  rounding  or 
hollowing,  strike  a  line  on  the  side  of  it  with  a  very  small  chalk 
line,  and  then,  with  the  drawing-knife  and  planes,  it  can  be  made 
straight  very  easily  and  quickly.  Some  pretty  good  joiners 
cannot  tell  always,  simply  by  the  eye,  whether  the  edges  of  two 
boards  will  make  a  close  joint  when  placed  together.  The  be 
ginner  may  find  it  to  his  advantage  to  place  the  edges  of  two 
boards  together  when  he  is  jointing  them,  and  then  he  will  be 
able  to  discover  without  any  difficulty,  how  much  must  be  planed 
off  in  order  to  make  a  close  joint. 

580.  Some  mechanics,  when  they  look  over  the  edge  of  a 
board,  cannot  tell  with  accuracy  whether  it  is  convex,  concave, 
undulating,  or  entirely  straight.  And  when  it  is  undulating 
they  cannot  go  and  put  their  finger  on  the  highest  point  of  the 
edge  of  the  board.  The  chief  reason  of  this  failure  is,  they 
close  one  eye,  when  looking  at  the  edge  of  a  board,  and  then 
endeavor  to  keep  the  eye  on  the  highest  place,  until  they  can  get 
to  it  with  the  plane.  This  is  all  well  enough.  But  when  they 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  397 

come  to  open  the  eye  that  was  closed  the  vision  is  so  affected 
that  the  exact  point  is  lost  sight  of  for  a  moment,  and  it  is 
impossible  to  determine  where  it  is.  The  best  and  most  correct 
way  is,  to  look  with  both  eyes  open,  as  they  always  are,  and 
then  the  exact  point  can  be  kept  in  view  until  the  workman  can 
reach  it  with  the  plane.  It  will  require  a  little  practice  and 
ingenuity  to  look  over  the  edge  of  a  board  with  both  eyes  open 
and  determine  whether  it  is  straight  or  not.  But  in  order  to  do 
it,  the  head  must  be  placed  in  such  a  position  that  the  edge  can 
be  seen  with  one  eye  only.  Then  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  keep 
the  eye  on  any  point  on  the  edge  of  a  board,  until  the  workman 
can  step  to  it  with  his  plane.  In  looking  at  anything,  which  is 
often  expressed  by  different  mechanics  as  "  ranging"  "squinting" 
"sighting"  or  "shooting"  in  order  to  discover  whether  it  is  straight 
or  not,  it  is  always  best  to  keep  both  eyes  open ;  because  the 
vision  is  less  perfect  when  one  eye  is  closed.  And  if  a  person 
becomes  accustomed  to  "  take  sight  "  with  both  eyes  open,  it  will 
be  found  a  better  way  than  to  close  one  eye. 

581.  In  jointing  the  end  of  a  board  or  plank  with  the  square 
and  sharp  point  of  a  knife,  cut  a  deep  mark  on  each  side  of  it, 
and  then  with  the  drawing-knife  shave  the  end  almost  to  the 
marks,  and  afterwards  use  the  jointer  or  smoothing-plane.     Never 
shove  the  plane  entirely  across  the  end,  lest  it  stave  off   slivers 
from  the  opposite  corner.     Place  the  board  in  the  vise,  if  it  is  a 
short  one,  and  if  a  long  one,  lay  one  end  of  it  on  a  low  bench  on 
the  edge,  and  joint  the  end  while  standing  astride  of  it.     Have 
the  plane  iron  very  sharp  for  this  purpose.     If  these  directions  be 
strictly  followed,  there  will  be  no  more  difficulty  in  making  the 
joints  of  a  box  water-tight  at  the  ends,  than  there  is  on  the  sides 
of  it. 

CHISELS. 

"  Chisels  here,  with  faces  bright, 
Framers,  flrmers,  heavy,  light, 
Corner-chisels,  duck-bill,  too, 
True  and  crooked,  now  we  view. 

582.  Fig.  156  represents  a  face  view  of  a  good  framing-chisel. 


398 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


FIGS.   156, 


158, 


159. 


FRAMER.  FIBMBB.  COBNEB  CHISEL.  DTTCK-BILL  CHISEL. 

a  is  the  face  of  the  blade,  I  is  the  socket-shank,  which  receives 
the  handle,  which  has  an  iron  ring  on  the  top  of  it  to  keep  it 
from  splitting. 

Fig.  157  exhibits  a  face  view  of  a  firmer  chisel,  which  is 
usually  made  of  the  lest  of  steel, — blade,  shank,  and  all.  Such 
chisels  are  designed  for  light  work,  such  as  hanging  doors,  and 
for  shaving  and  fitting  by  hand  without  a  mallet. 

583.  Fig.  158  is  a  perspective  view  of  a  corner  chisel,  which 
is  worth  a  score  of  common  chisels  for  mortising.  As  such 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  399 

chisels  are  seldom  kept  on  hand  at  hardware  stores,  get  one 
forged,  with  the  wings  at  a  right  angle,  which  will  cost  about 
seventy-five  cents.  Take  it,  before  it  is  tempered,  to  a  machine- 
shop,  and  have  the  blade  planed  true,  at  a  right  angle,  both  on 
the  face  and  bach  Have  the  edges  planed  down  so  that  each 
wing  will  be  about  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  wide,  so  that  it  can 
be  used  in  making  inch  mortises.  After  tempering  it,  grind  it  on 
a  stone  that  runs  very  true,  and  whet  it  like  any  other  chisel. 
File  the  basil  in  the  corner  to  the  desired  depth  with  a  triangular 
file.  Do  not  file  off  the  projecting  point  at  the  middle  of  the 
basil,  as  that  will  aid  very  much  in  mortising.  Planing  it  and 
tempering  it  will  cost  not  over  forty  cents. 

584.  The  superiority  of  such  a  chisel,  when  compared  with 
straight  chisels,  is  this ;   in  heading  down  a  mortise,  it  makes  a 
clean,  true  cut  in  the  corner,  and  a  workman  can  mortise  very 
much  faster  with  it  than  with  another  chisel,  and  a  beginner  can 
make  a  very  good  mortise  with  it  when  he  would  not  have  suffi 
cient  skill  to  make  a  mortise  "  half-way  decent  "  with  a  straight 
chisel.     (See  MAKING  MORTISES,  in  next  vol.) 

585.  Fig.  159  represents  a  side  or  edge  view  of  a  duck-bill 
chisel,  which  is  designed  for  making  deep  mortises,  and  is  ground 
about  as  every  kind  of  chisels  should  be  ground. 


FORMS    OF    CHISELS,    AND    GRINDING    THEM. 

586.  No  mechanic  can  mortise  well  and  easily  if  his  chisels 
are  not  of  a  good  shape  and  well  sharpened.  In  order  to  have 
a  chisel  enter  a  mortise  easily  and  not  stick,  so  that  it  is  difficult 
to  withdraw  it,  it  must  be  a  trifle  wider  at  the  cutting  edge  than  it 
is  at  the  upper  end  of  the  blade.  When  a  chisel  is  narrower  at 
the  cutting  edge,  like  Fig.  163,  it  will  bind  so  tightly  in  a  mor 
tise  that  it  will  be  difficult  to  withdraw  it.  If  the  two  side  edges 
are  exactly  parallel  with  each  other,  like  the  blades  of  156  and 
157,  they  will  stick  in  mortising  but  little.  In  order  to  have  a 
chisel  enter  straight  inwards,  the  face  should  be  as  straight  as 
shown  at  Fig.  162,  which  is  an  edge  view  of  a  framer.  Never 
17* 


400 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 


grind  the  edge  of  a  chisel  like  Fig.  161  ;  because,  when  of  such 
a  form  it  is  very  difficult  to  mortise  true  with  them.  Chisels  are 
sometimes  made  and  sometimes  lent  like  Fig.  160.  But  they 
are  very  awkward,  inconvenient  tools  to  mortise  with,  because 
the  edge  will  always  run  inwards  from  the  mark,  making  a  mor- 

FIGS.   160,        161,        162,          163. 


MANNER  OF   GBINDING   CHISELS. 


tise  larger  in  the  middle  of  it.  The  side  edges  of  every  chisel 
should  be  ground  at  a  right  angle  with  the  face.  If  they  arc 
bevelled  but  little  either  way  from  the  face,  they  will  stick  when 
mortising.  If  the  face  and  side  edges  are  polished  as  they  should 
be,  so  that  you  can  see  the  color  of  your  eyes  in  them,  and  kept 
oiled  when  mortising,  they  will  never  stick.  Rough,  untrue 
chisels  make  hard  work  in  mortising. 


TURNING-GOUGES   AND    TURNING-CHISELS 

587.  Of  all  sizes,  and  firmer-gouges  also,  may  be  obtained  at 
hardware  stores,  and  are  often  of  great  service  in  the  farmer's 
workshop. 


THE  YOUNG  FAEMER'S  MANUAL.  401 

AUGERS   AND    BITS. 

"  An  auger  once  to  boring  went, 
And  bored  until  the  shank  was  bent ; 
The  screw  encountered  a  tough  knot, 
And  stopped  the  boring  on  the  spot. 
The  pod  untwisted,  and  the  lips 
Refused  to  cut  and  heave  out  chips."— PUNCH. 

588.  The  principal  parts  of  an  auger  or  bit  are,  a  the  screw,  b 
the  cutters,  or  lips,  c  the  pod,  or  twist,  and  d  the  shank.     Pointed 
projections  on  the  under  side  of  the  lips  of  some  kinds  of  augers 
and  bits  are  called  spurs. 

589.  It  will  be  seen  by  these  figures  that  the  lips  are  circular, 
and  not  square,  as  most  augers  are.     This  is  a  patentable  feature 
in  the  manufacture  of  augers  and  bits,  and  Mr.  Ransom  Cooke, 
Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y.,  the  patentee,  informed  me  that  he  "re 
ceives  four  hundred  dollars  per  month  for  his  claim,  during  the  life 
of  the  patent,  from  Messrs.  Lamson,  Goodnow  &  Co.,  Shelburne 
Falls,  Mass.,  who  are  the  sole  proprietors  for  manufacturing  this 
kind  of  augers  and  bits.      I  know  them  to  be  far  superior  to  any 
other  auger  that  was  ever  made.      They  bore  with  the  greatest 
possible  ease  at  any  angle  of  the  grain  of  the  wood,  without  crush 
ing  or  breaking  and  tearing  out  the  wood  which  adjoins  the  hole 
bored.     These  augers  now  stand  without  a  successful  rival  in  the 
world,  and  can  be  obtained  of  any  size  of  the  manufacturers,  at 
•79  Beekman  street,  N.  Y.  city. 

590.  Fig.  166  represents  a  small  bit,  with  a  single   lip  and  a 
single  twist ;  and  for  boring  any  kind  of  wood  it  is  infinitely  su 
perior  to  a  centre-bit.     (See  PATENT  EXTENSION  BIT,  Fig.  123.) 

SHARPENING   AUGERS   AND   BITS 

591.  Is  usually  done  with  a  file,  while  the  pod  is  held  in  the 
vise.      The  lips  should  be  filed  at  as  acute  an  angle  as  will  be 
consistent  with  strength  on  the  upper  side,  and  on  the  under  side 
they  should  be  filed  as  flat  as  possible  and  have  the  cutting  edge 
a  little  more  prominent  than  it  is  lack  of  the  edge.     This  style  of 
augers  and  bits  should  be  filed  with  a  very  fine  round  file.     When 
augers  have  spurs,  the  spurs  should  never  be  filed  on  the  outside. 


FIGS.    164, 


165, 


166. 


DOCBUC-tlP    ACGER. 

(402) 


DOUBUB-UP  BIT.  8INOIJB-UP  BIT. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  403 

but  always  on  the  inside,  so  that  they  will  mark  out  the  size  of 
the  hole,  and  cut  so  large  that  the  pod  will  not  fond,  or  be 
"  pinched  "  in  the  hole.  As  augers  and  bits  cut  with  a  crushing 
stroke,  (see  Par.  543)  after  filing  the  lips  whet  them  a  little  with 
a  small  piece  of  oil-stone,  to  give  them  a  keen  edge. 

DEFECTIVE    AUGERS    AND    BITS. 

592.  Good  augers  and  bits  are   sometimes  rendered  almost 
worthless  by  improper  filing.     If  the  under  side  of  the  lips  is 
more  prominent  back  of  the  cutting  edge  than  at  the   edge,  the 
screw  will  not  draw  it  in,  and  a  workman  must  necessarily  bear 
on  in  boring.     (See  the  remedy,  Par.  591.)     Sometimes  the  screw 
has  become  very  dull,  and  needs -a  little  filing  in  order  to  make  it 
draw  in  when  boring.     Sometimes  the  pod  is  larger  than  the  hole 
which  the  lips  cut ;  and  sometimes  it  has  been  bent  a  little,  so 
that  it  binds  on  one  side  of  the  hole.      In   either  case  the  pod 
must  be  dressed  off  true,  so  that  it  will  not  bind  in  the  hole. 
Sometimes  one  lip  cuts  a  chip  twice  as  thick  as  the  other.     Bore 
a  hole  close  to  the   end  of  a  stick,  so  that  you  can  see  which  lip 
cuts  the  thickest,  and  file  it  off  a  little  on  the  under  side.     Should 
the  screw  of  a  large  auger  get  broken  off,  if  there  is  substance 
enough  in  the  auger  another  screw  may  be  put  in  for  a  few  dimes 
by  a  gunsmith  or  watchmaker. 

BORING   HOLES. 

593.  In  order  to  bore  holes  straight  and  true,  the  stick  to  be 
bored  should  lay  about  level,  both  endways  and  sideways ;  for  an 
auger  can  be  kept  in  a  vertical  position  much  easier  than  it  can 
be  inclined  a  little  to  correspond  with  the  inclination  of  a  stick 
that  does  not  lie  level.      Carpenters,  when  framing   a  building, 
always  want  their  timber  to  lie  as  nearly  level  as  practicable,  so 
that  they  will  be  able  to  bore  the  pin-holes  more  exact.      In  bor 
ing  a  hole  diagonally,  the  tyro  will  be  able  to  bore  it  truer  if  the 
stick  be  held  level  one  way  and  inclined  the  other  way,  so  as  to 
bring  the  auger  in  a  vertical  position.      In  boring  a  hole  length 
ways  through  a  stick,  put  it  in  the  vise  and  plumb  it,  and  then 


404  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

start  in  the  auger  and  plumb  that  also,  and  keep  it  in  an  erect 
position  until  the  auger  has  entered  the  length  of  the  pod,  when 
if  the  pod  be  true  the  auger  will  run  very  straight  through.  In 
this  way  I  have  often  bored  a  hole  through  a  piece  of  scantling 
twice  the  length  of  the  auger,  by  boring  at  both  ends.  After  an 
auger  has  entered  the  length  of  the  pod,  the  chips  should  be  cleared 
out  often,  especially  in  green  timber,  by  turning  the  auger  back 
wards  just  enough  to  loosen  the  screw,  and  then  drawing  it 
straight  out,  turning  it  forward  as  it  is  drawn  out.  If  it  be  turned 
backward  it  works  the  chips  towards  the  bottom  of  the  hole.  Some 
times  an  auger  refuses  to  bore,  in  consequence  of  a  shaving  get 
ting  on  the  cutting  edge ;  and  sometimes  the  screw  will  fill  with 
wood,  and  will  not  draw  the  auger  in.  This  may  be  prevented 
by  filing  the  screw  a  little,  and  by  sharpening  the  cutting  edge. 
If  this  does  not  remove  the  defect  entirely,  oil  the  screw,  and  bear 
on  the  auger  a  little  when  boring. 

594.  In  boring  pump  logs,  or  wooden  tubes  which  may  be 
eight  or  twelve  feet  long,  or  anything  else  of  that  description,  a 
long  lathe  is  necessary,  or  something  equivalent  to  it,  by  which 
means  the  centre  of  each  end  of  the  stick  and  the  screw  of  the 
auger    and  the  end  of  the    shank  will  all  range  exactly  in  a 
straight  line.     But  the  auger  must  be  drawn  out  often,  lest  the  chips 
clog  so  firmly  that  there  will  be  difficulty  in  withdrawing  it  at  all. 

595.  The  neatest  auger  for  this  business  consists  of  a  pod  some 
eight  or  ten  feet  long,  made  very  true,  fitted  neatly  to  turn  in  an 
iron  tube  of  the  same  length  as  the  pod.     The  tube  may  be  two 
or  more  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  lips  of  the  auger  cut  a  hole 
just  large  enough  for  the  tube  to  enter  easily ;  and  the  chips  are 
all  brought  out  through  the  tube.      Such    an   auger  will    bore 
very  true,  and  will  not  clog.     The  lips  of  such  an  auger  cut  a 
hole  just  as  large  as  the  tube.      This  arrangement  was  patented, 
and  is  now  in  use  by  a  man  in  Elmira,  N.  Y. 

596.  The  tyro  should  be  very  careful,  in  boring  hard  wood, 
not  to  thrust  the  shank  of  the  auger  or  bit  sideways,  from  right  to 
left,  when  first  starting  it  in,  because  there  is  danger  of  bending 
or  breaking  the  screw. 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


405 


597.  There  are  many  patent  devices  for  attaching  augers  to 
the  handles ;  but  I  shall  notice  none  of  them,  because  they  in 
crease  the  cost  of  an  auger  too  much.      A  thin  plate  of  iron 
screwed  on  the  under  side  of  the  handle,  with  a  square  hole  in  it 
just  large  enough  to  receive  the  end  of  the   auger  shank,  which 
is  passed  through  the  handle  and  secured  on  the  upper  side  by  a 
small  nut  and  screw,  is  about  as  good  a  device,  all  things  consid 
ered,  as  any  one  can  desire.     Keep  augers  sharp  and  bright,  and 
it  is  good  fun  for  boys  to  bore. 

598.  When  bits  cannot  be  used  with  the  brace,  make  a  small 
handle  for  them,  and  use  them  as  a  gimlet. 


FIGS.  167,         168. 


AWLS. 

599.  Fig.  167  is  a  harness-awl,   for 
making  holes  in  leather.      From  the 
point  to  the  part  where  it  begins  to  ta 
per  it  is  ground  rather  flat,  so  that  the 
edges  will  cut  when  entering  the  leather. 
A  round  awl  does  not  enter  leather 
easily. 

600.  Fig.    168  is    a    brad-awl,   for 
making  holes  in  wood.      The  edge  is 
made  square  across  the  awl,  in  order  to 
cut  off  the  grain  of  the  wood  as  it  en 
ters.     A  pointed  round  awl  will  split  a 
stick  when  such  an  awl  would  not. 

601.  Scratch-awls     should     always 
have    a   round  point.       Harness -awls 
and  brad-awls  should   be  whet  on  an 
oil-stone,  else  they  will  not  enter  ea 
sily.     All  such  awls  can  be  obtained 
at    the    hardware    stores   for   two    or 
three  cents  each. 


HARNESS-AWL. 


BRAD-AWI.. 


406  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

SAWS. 

"  The  saw  hangs  glittering  in  the  quiet  shade, 
With  sharp  and  grinning  teeth,  and  burnished  blade. 
The  well-set  teeth  laugh  at  the  stubborn  oaks, 
And  knots  and  gnarls  yield  to  its  potent  strokes. 

Now  starting,  and  stopping,  and  darting, 

And  ripping,  and  slitting,  and  splitting, 

Dividing,  and  cleaving,  and  riving, 

And  shivering,  and  quivering,  and  slivering, 
Inspiring  with  terror,  amazement  and  awe  : 
Such  are  the  manoeuvres  cut  up  by  a  saw.  "—EDWARDS. 

TECHNICALITIES    IN    RELATION    TO     SAWS.        , 

602.  Hanging  a  saw  means,  putting  it  in  the  frame  or  gate 
previous  to  using  it,  or  fitting  a  buzz  saw  to  a  journal  or  mandrel. 
The  two  irons  on  the  mandrel  which  hold  the  saw  in  its  posi 
tion  are  called  the  flanges,  or  collars.  The  collar  which  is  keyed 
fast  to  the  mandrel  is  called  the  fixed  collar,  and  the  other  one 
the  loose  collar.  The  distance  from  one  tooth  to  another  is  called 
the  space.  Gumming  a  saw  is  the  act  of  making  the  spaces 
deeper,  or  wider  and  deeper,  according  to  the  shape  of  the  teeth. 
The  face  of  the  teeth  is  the  edge  which  is  forward  when  the  saw 
is  in  use.  The  lack  of  the  teeth  is  the  edge  opposite  to  the  face. 
The  hook  or  pitch  of  the  teeth  is  the  inclination  of  the  face  of 
the  teeth  forward  from  a  line  drawn  at  a  right  angle  with  the 
cutting  edge,  or  points  of  the  teeth.  Setting  a  saw  is  the  act  of 
spreading  the  points  of  the  teeth,  either  by  hammering  or  bend 
ing  them  sideways,  so  as  to  make  the  saw  cut  a  kerf  wider  than 
the  thickness  of  the  saw.  Jointing  a  saw  is  the  act  of  making 
the  points  of  the  teeth  true,  both  on  the  edge  and  on  the  sides 
of  the  points,  so  that  in  a  buzz  saw  every  tooth  will  extend  just 
so  far  from  the  centre  of  motion.  The  roots  of  the  teeth  are 
the  bases  of  them  at  the  bottom  of  the  spaces.  The  rake  of  a 
saw  is  the  inclination  of  the  cutting  edge  forward  towards  the 
timber  to  be  sawed.  This  is  only  applied  to  saws  which  work 
up  and  down,  or  horizontally.  Fleam-pointed,  or  fleaming,  means 
having  the  teeth  filed  on  the  face  and  back  diagonally.  A  circular 
saw  is  said  to  be  fast  when  the  rim  is  largest^  which  is  caused 
by  stretching  the  edge  when  gumming  it.  When  a  saw  deviates 


407 

from  a  straight  course  in  sawing  off  a  stick,  it  is  said  to  run. 
The  young  farmer  should  make  himself  familiar  with  each  of  these 
terms,  as  they  will  often  be  used  in  the  succeeding  paragraphs. 

NAMES    OF    DIFFERENT    KINDS    OF    SAWS. 

603.  Saws  that  are  circular  on  the  cutting-edge  are  denomi 
nated  sometimes  buzz  saws,  or  crosscut-circular,  or  slitting-circular, 
according  to  the  form  of  the  teeth.     Hand-saws  are  denominated 
hand-crosscut,    or  hand-slitting,   or  panel  saws,  according  to   the 
form  of  their  teeth.     Saws  that  have  their  backs  inserted  in  a 
bar  of  brass  or  iron  are  called  lack,  or  tenon  saws.     A  compass 
saw  has  a  narrow,  tapering  blade,  with  a  handle  on  one  end  for 
sawing  round  holes  in  anything.     Saws  that  are  used  by  two 
men  when  sawing  logs  are  called  crosscut,  or  crosscut  log  saws. 
(Any  saw  that  is  filed  to  cut  across  the  grain  of  wood  is  called  a 
crosscut,  and  when  filed  square  across  the  teeth,  slitting,  or  rip 
saws.)      Saws  that  are  used  for  sawing  logs  into  short  cuts  for 
staves,  or  shingles,  or  firewood,  when  attached  to  a  pitman   are 
called  crosscut-butting  saws,  or  drag  saws.     Felly,  or  felloe  saws 
are  put  in  a  frame  and  filed  to  cut  both  crossways  and  length- 
ways  of  the  grain  of  wood.     Pit  saws  are  long,  two-men  saws, 
for  slitting   long  timber,  while  one  man  stands  on  *  the  timber, 
and  the  other  beneath  the  stick  that  they  are  sawing.     Billet, 
or  wood-sawyer's  saws,  are  put  in  a  frame  for  sawing  fire-wood. 
Bow,  or  billet-web  saws,  are   put  in  a  small  frame  and  strained, 
and  used  for  sawing  circular  work.     Cast-steel  webs  are  used  for 
sawing  iron  and  brass.      Mulay,  or  "mooly"  saws,  are  used  in 
sawmills  where  the  pitman  is  attached  to  one  end  of  the  saw, 
and  the  saw  is  not  hung  in  a  gate.       There    are  many  other 
kinds  of  saws  which  we  will  not  notice  here. 

SELECTING   SAWS,  AND    THE    EXTERNAL    SIGNS    OF    GOOD    SAWS 
AND    POOR    ONES,    AND    NUMBER    OF    TEETH    IN    SAWS. 

604.  In  selecting  a  saw  of  any  kind,  it  is  always  the  wisest 
policy  to  get  a  good  one,  even  if  it  be  a  little  more  costly.     A 
poor  saw  is  always  a  source  of  vexation  and  loss  to  any  one  who 


408  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S    MANUAL. 

has  much  sawing  to  do ;  and  a  man  never  regrets  having  paid  a 
few  dimes  more  for  a  good  saw. 

605.  A  good  saw  is  usually  distinguished  by  a  bright  polish — 
a  clear  and    lively  ring — -freedom  from  flaws  in  the    blade  and 
in  the  teeth — its  great  elasticity,  and  a  good  degree  of  hardness. 
A  coarse-looking,  leaden-colored,  dull-sounding,  non-elastic,  pew 
ter-plate,  coarsely -polished  saw  should  be  avoided.     A  hard  saw 
is  worth  a  score  of  soft  ones.      A  saw  that  is  so  soft  when  it  is 
filed  that  a  thin  sheet  of  steel  hangs  to  the  edge  of  the  teeth,  is 
a  poor  thing.     The  two  ends  of  a  good  hand-saw,  or  a  crosscut 
saw,  if  the  blade  is  not  too  thick,  may  be  brought  together  with 
out  any  danger  of  kinking  or  breaking  it.     A  saw  that  will  kink 
very  easily  is  not  as  good  as  it  would  be  if  it  were  harder.     Such 
a  saw  will  never  retain  its  set  of  the  teeth  like  a  harder  one. 

606.  Another  thing  of  great  importance  in  selecting  a  saw  is, 
to  select  one  that  has  teeth,  many  or  few,  adapted  to  the  kind 
of  sawing  to  be  done.     The  materials  which  a  farmer  has  to  saw 
are  so  variable,  that  it  is  best  for  him  to  select  a  hand-saw  for 
ordinary  purposes  having  a  pretty  stiff  plate,  and  about  seven 
teeth  to  the  inch.     A  saw  with  fine  teeth  will  cut  much  smoother 
than  a  saw  with  coarse  teeth.     Indeed,  for  some  kinds  of  sawing 
a  saw  with  coarse  teeth  would  do  the  work  intolerably  bad ;  while 
if  the  same  saw  had  four  times  as  many  teeth  it  would  saw  neatly, 
and   just    as   fast,    and  sometimes    much  faster,   with  the  same 
power.     If  the  materials  to  be  sawed  be  of  good  thickness,  the 
teeth  should  be  farther  apart ;  and  if  the  materials  be  small,  or 
thin,  the  teeth  must  be  fine,  else  they  will  take  too  rank  a  hold, 
making  a  very  rough,  jagged  cut.     For  sawing  hard  wood,  both 
across  and  lengthways  of  the  grain  of  the  wood,  a  saw  with  fine 
teoth  is  best.     A  hand-saw,  whose  teeth  are  half  an  inch  or  three- 
eighths  of  an  inch  apart  is  an  ugly  thing  to  saw  a  thin,  hard  board 
with,  or  even  hard  plank.     The  teeth  of  a  saw,  for  any  purpose, 
ought  to  be   so  fine  that  not  less  than  four,  in  sawing  soft  wood, 
and  six  or  eight  in  hard  wood,  shall  be  cutting  at  once.     In  slit 
ting  hard  plank,  the  teeth  must  be  fine  or  the  work  will  be  very 
rough.     The  reason  of  this  is,  when  the  teeth  are  far  apart  each 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  409 

tooth  is  made  to  cut  deeper  than  it  is  capable  of  cutting  without 
staggering  or  springing  aside  ;  and  when  the  cut  of  a  saw  is  all 
notched  and  jagged,  it  is  very  evident  that  each  tooth  is  made  to 
cut  too  deep.  If  the  plate  of  a  saw  is  very  thin,  the  teeth  must 
be  fine,  else  it  will  spring,  and  work  badly.  If  the  plate  is  a 
thick  one,  the  teeth  may  be  farther  apart  without  danger  of 
springing,  but  the  cut  will  not  be  as  smooth  as  if  there  were 
more  teeth.  A  saw  having  fine  teeth  will  require  more  filing  and 
setting,  but  it  will  do  the  work  enough  better  to  compensate  for 
any  extra  expense  in  putting  it  in  order. 

607.  The  teeth  in  circular  saws  from  twenty  to  thirty  inches 
in  diameter,  for  cutting  firewood,  ought  not  to  be  more  than  an 
inch  or  an  inch  and  a  fourth  apart  to  work  the  best,  taking  hard 
wood  and  soft,  large  and  small,  together.     Each  tooth  can  cut 
only  a  certain  distance  to  good  advantage,  and  this  distance  is 
in  proportion  to  the  hardness  or  softness  of  the  timber.     In  saw 
ing  soft  wood,  if  there  are  a  great  many  teeth  the  saw-dust  is  cut 
very  fine ;  and  each  tooth  does  not  cut  as  deep  as  it  should,  espe 
cially  if  the  power  is  limited.  Consequently  there  is  a  loss  of  power. 

608.  A  buzz  slaw,  for  slitting  boards  and  plank,  for  both  hard 
and  soft  timber,  should  have  rather  fine  teeth,  where  smooth  work 
is  any  object,  unless  the  velocity  with  which  such  a  saw  revolves 
is  unusually  great.     (See  VELOCITY  OF  SAWS,  680.)     A  tenon 
saw  for  ordinary  purposes  should  have  about  eight  teeth  in  an 
inch.     Such  a  saw  will  cut  about  right  for  sawing  the  limbs  of 
trees  preparatory  to  grafting. 

609.  Circular  slitting  saws,  as  a  general  thing,  have  too  few 
teeth  to  do  smooth  work,  unless  the  materials  to  be  slit  are  pretty 
thick.     In  a  saw  forty-eight  inches  in  diameter,  for  sawing  soft 
wood   good  sawyers  say   there  should  be  about  twenty-four  to 
thirty  teeth,  and  for  hard  wood  about  forty  teeth.     A  small  circular 
saw  ten  or  twelve  inches  in  diameter,  for  slitting  hard  wood  plank 
and  boards,  should  have  the  points  of  the  teeth  about  half  an 
inch  apart.     The  thinner  the  blade  the  finer  the  teeth  must  be. 

610.  I  am  now  using  a  circular  saw  about  one  foot  in  diame 
ter,  the  teeth  of  which  were  about  three  inches  apart  at  the  cut- 


410 

ting  edge.  It  was  impossible  to  slit  hard  timber  smooth  with  it 
until  I  cut  the  teeth  all  away  and  made  new  ones  in  it  about  half 
an  inch  apart.  Now  it  saws  as  true  and  smooth,  with  the  same 
power  and  velocity,  as  it  is  possible  for  a  saw  to  cut.  I  used  for 
several  years  a  2  2 -inch  circular  wood-saw,  whose  teeth  were  three 
inches  apart  at  the  points,  and  it  always  worked  very  unsatisfac 
torily.  Another  one  was  put  in  its  place,  having  teeth  an  inch 
and  a  fourth  apart,  and  with  the  same  power  it  would  saw  nearly 
twice  as  fast,  and  do  it  very  smoothly. 

PUTTING   SAWS   IN    ORDER 

611.  Is  an  operation  that  requires  the  exercise  of  much  dex 
terity  and  mechanical  precision.  If  the  teeth  are  all  filed  to  a 
sharp  point,  unless  they  are  perfectly  even  and  true  on  the  points, 
a  saw  will  not  cut  as  fast  as  it  ought,  nor  as  fast  as  it  would,  if  it 
were  well  filed.  When  a  saw  is  well  filed  and  the  teeth  set 
properly,  by  casting  the  eye  over  the  teeth,  lengthways  of  the 
saw,  not  the  least  variation  in  the  length  of  the  teeth  can  be 
discovered.  Where  some  of  the  teeth  are  longer  than  the  rest, 
the  long  ones  only  will  cut ;  and  so  far  as  cutting  is  concerned, 
the  short  ones  might  as  well  not  be  there.  When  a  few  teeth 
only  have  been  dulled,  the  saw  will  cut  no  faster  by  filing  these 
dulled  ones  to  a  point,  unless  the  rest  of  the  teeth  are  jointed  off 
and  made  of  a  corresponding  length.  In  such  instances  it  would 
be  as  well  to  let  them  remain  as  they  are  until  the  remainder  of 
the  teeth  need  filing.  In  filing,  the  aim  should  be  to  keep  the 
teeth  of  a  uniform  shape, — i.  e.,  the  angle  of  what  is  called  the 
hook  of  the  teeth,  should  be  retained  as  much  as  possible.  Many 
farmers,  not  understanding  the  importance  of  this,  continue  to 
file  with  a  file  that  is  nearly  worn  out  on  its  corners,  and  thus 
the  hook  of  the  teeth  becomes  not  only  very  obtuse,  but  the  teeth 
are  not  kept  as  long  as  they  should  be.  It  is  poor  policy  to  file 
a  saw  with  a  file  the  corners  of  which  are  worn  out.  It  is  very 
important  that  the  corners  of  file  should  be  sharp,  in  order  to 
keep  all  the  teeth  as  long  as  possible.  If  a  tooth  has  been  short 
ened  on  the  point  by  dulling  or  filing,  it  should  be  filed  to  its 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


411 


original  length  as  it  is  filed  to  a  point.  Much  care  should  be  ex 
ercised  lest  the  teeth  on  one  side  become  smaller  and  shorter  than 
those  on  the  opposite  side.  Whenever  this  is  the  case  with  a 
saw,  the  file,  in  filing,  should  be  pressed  harder  against  the  larger 
teeth  than  against  the  smaller  ones. 

612.     It  is  very  important  when  filing  a  saw,  to  have  it  held 
firmly  in  a  proper  position.     For  this  purpose  a  saw-clamp  is 

FIG.  169.  FIG.  170. 


SAW-CLAMP. 


necessary,  a  perspective  and  end  view  of  which  is  represented  by 
Fig.  169,  with  a  saw  in  it.  a  is  a  heavy  plank,  two  inches  thick 
or  thicker,  a  foot  wide  and  three  feet  long.  Fig.  1 70  is  an  end  view 
of  the  same.  ~b  ~b  are  four  standards,  one  and  a  half  by  four  inches 
square,  of  hard  wood,  driven  into  mortises  in  a,  and  are  about 
eight  inches  long,  c  c  are  the  jaws,  about  four  feet  long,  and 
fastened  to  the  upper  ends  of  b  b,  by  mortise  and  tenon,  d  d 
are  screws,  which  pass  through  b  I.  They  may  be  nothing  but 
iron  bolts.  The  standards  b  I  should  be  about  one-eighth  of  an 
inch  apart,  to  give  room  for  a  saw.  Put  the  saw  in  the  clamp 
and  screw  up  the  jaws,  and  if  the  clamp  is  not  heavy  enough  to 
remain  still  when  filing,  bolt  it  to  the  bench.  If  the  jaws  are 
straight  and  true,  they  will  press  against  the  saw  from  one  end 
to  the  other.  If  the  saw  rattles  or  works  between  the  jaws, 
they  are  not  true,  and  must  be  straightened. 

PUTTING    HAND-SAWS    IN    ORDER. 

613.  Put  the  saw  in  the  clamp  with  the  teeth  extending  a 
little  above  the  jaws.  Always  have  the  clamp  set  as  level  as 
practicable,  and  never  attempt  to  file  a  saw  in  a  place  where  it 
is  11  Dt  as  light  as  is  desirable.  It  is  very  important  to  havo 


412  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

enough  light,  that  the  points  of  all  the  teeth  may  be  seen  dis 
tinctly.  No  man  can  expect  to  file  a  saw  well  when  the  light  is 
dim.  Sometimes  one  can  file  by  candle-light,  if  he  has  good  sight, 
quite  as  well  as  by  daylight.  In  dark,  cloudy  days,  the  clamp 
can  be  carried  out  of  doors  when  filing ;  but  it  should  always  be 
placed  in  a  level  position. 

614.  Now,  the  idea  is,  to  file  just  so  deep  between  every  two 
teeth,  and  to  file  the  face  and  back  (see  TECHNICALITIES,  Par. 
602)  at  a  given  angle,  and  to  have  the  teeth  on  both  sides  of  the 
saw  of  equal  length  and  size.     Cast  the  eye  over  the  teeth,  and 
if  some  of  them  are  longer  than  others  the  teeth  must  be  jointed. 

HOW    TO    JOINT    SAWS. 

615.  Put  a  saw  in  the  clamp  as  for  filing,  and,  holding  a  large 
file  in  the  hands  with  the  flat  side  down,  and  level,  run  it  along  as 
you  would  a  plane  on  the  points  of  the  teeth,  until  the  long  ones 
are  all  filed  off  on  the  points  even  with  the  short  ones.     Great 
care  should  be  exercised  in  jointing  a  saw,  and  not  joint  off  the 
teeth  on  one  side  of  the  saw  more  than  they  are  jointed  off  on  the 
other  side.     Run  the  file  from  end  to  end  of  the  saw,  and  exam 
ine  it  at  every  stroke  to  see  if  the  teeth  are  not  jointed  off 
enough.     One  careless  stroke  in  jointing,  or  one  stroke  too  much> 
will  cause  much  unnecessary  filing. 

616.  To  joint  a  circular  saw,  set  it  to  running  moderately  by 
hand  backwards,  and  hold  a  large  file  on  a  plank  placed  close  to 
the  edge  of  the  saw,  so  that  the  longest  teeth  as  they  revolve 
will  touch  the  file.     Place  the  edge  of  the  plank  at  a  right  angle 
with  the  saw,  in  order  to  have  some  guide  for  holding  the  file  at 
a  right  angle.     If  this  particular  is  not  strictly  observed,  the  saw 
will  not  be  round.     I  have  seen  workmen,  when  jointing  circular 
saws,  hold  their  file  so  unskillfully  that  all  the  short  teeth  as  well 
as  the  long  ones,  were  jointed  off,   and  the   saw  was  no  more 
round  than  it  was  when  they  commenced  jointing  it.     Hold  the 
file  firmly,  and  move  it  towards  the  teeth  only  a  hair's-breadth  at 
a  time. 

FILING  SAWS. 

617.  After  having  put  the  saw  in  the  clamp,  as  in  the  figure, 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  413 

and  placed  it  on  a  bench  that  will  bring  the  teeth  about  as  high 
as  "  the  pit  of  your  stomach,"  put  the  shank  of  the  file  in  a 
handle  not  less  than  one  foot  long,  and  put  it  in  as  true  as  prac 
ticable.  The  beginner  will  be  able  to  hold  his  file  more  correctly 
with  a  long  handle  than  with  a  short  one.  Now,  hold  the  file 
firmly,  so  that  it  will  not  turn  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  and 
file  every  tooth  to  a  point ;  and  as  soon  as  a  tooth  is  filed  to  a 
point,  do  not  give  it  another  stroke.  Great  care  and  skill  are 
necessary  when  filing  with  a  triangular  file,  lest  while  one  tooth 
is  being  filed,  the  tooth  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  file  should  get 
filed  off  too  much.  Always  make  the  strokes  from  you ;  and 
when  a  tooth  is  almost  to  a  point,  make  each  stroke  with  precision 
and  care,  and  rather  slowly. 

THE    PROPER    ANGLE    FOR    FILING    THE    FACE    OF    THE    TEETH 

618.  For  cutting  across  the  grain,  varies  very  much  among 
different  filers.  The  work  to  be  done  with  a  saw  must  determine, 
in  a  measure,  the  proper  angle  for  filing  the  face  of  the  teeth. 
If  the  wood  be  hard,  and  knotty,  and  gnarly,  the  teeth  must  be 
filed  for  chipping  or  removing  the  sawdust.  And  the  best  kind 
of  tooth  for  removing  sawdust  is  one  that  is  filed  square  across 
on  the  face.  But  a  tooth  filed  square  across  on  the  face  of  it 
will  not  cut  off  the  fibres  of  the  wood  well ;  therefore,  the  face 
of  the  teeth  must  be  filed  more  or  less  diagonally.  If  filed  very 
diagonally  on  the  face,  the  teeth  will  be  very  fleaming,  or  fleam- 
pointed.  (See  TECHNICALITIES.)  When  filed  of  this  shape,  they 
cut  very  fast,  but  they  remove  the  core  very  slowly.  Some  men 
prefer  to  file  four  teeth  or  six  teeth  very  fleam-pointed,  at  an 
angle  of  about  forty  or  forty-five  degrees  on  the  face,  and  then 
file  one  tooth  square  on  the  face  for  taking  out  the  core,  leaving 
the  point  a  little  shorter  than  the  others.  For  all  kinds  of  work, 
for  hard  and  for  soft  wood,  when  a  man  keeps  but  one  saw,  if 
the  teeth  be  filed  at  an  angle  of  about  ten  or  fifteen  degrees  on  the 
face,  it  will  be  found  to  subserve  the  best  purpose  for  hand-saws. 
If  a  man  keeps  a  slitting-s&w,  his  crosscut  hand-s&w  may  be  filed 
a  little  more  fleaming  on  the  face  of  the  teeth.  When  the  wood 


414 

to  be  sawed  is  all  soft  wood,  a  saw  will  cut  the  fastest  if  -four 
teeth — two  on  each  side — are  filed  quite  fleaming  on  the  /ace, 
and  every  fifth  tooth  filed  square  across  it  on  the  face  and  back, 
without  setting  them.  When  teeth  are  all  filed  very  fleaming, 
and  none  filed  square  to  clean  out  the  chip  or  core,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  bear  on  in  sawing. 

619.  Slitting-saws  are  always  filed  square  across  on  the  face  of 
the  teeth,  and  usually  square  'on  the  back  of  them ;    although 
some  filers  contend  that  it  is  better  to  file  a  little  fleaming  on  the 
backs  at  the  points.     As  it  is  very  difficult  for  beginners  to  retain 
the  proper  angle  in- all  the  teeth,  and  to  file  every  tooth  of  exactly 
such  a  size  and  form,  with  nothing  but  the  eye  for  a  guide, 

A    SAW-FILER, 

620.  A  perspective  view  of  which  is  shown  at  Fig.  171,  is 
found  to  be  a  very  useful  implement.     With  such  a  filer,  any 

FIG.   171. 


1GUSON.  ALB 


farmer  can  file  his  saws  in  a  most  complete  manner,  giving  every 
tooth  exactly  a  certain  angle,  both  on  the  face  and  back,  and  of  a 
given  hook,  and  just  so  long  and  no  longer,  nor  shorter ;  and 
besides,  if  every  tooth  is  filed  to  a  point,  the  saw  will  be  neatly 
jointed.  It  consists  of  a  clamp  like  Fig.  169,  with  an  iron  plate, 
a,  screwed  firmly  to  the  jaw  of  the  clamp.  ~b  is  an  iron  slide,  which 
is  neatly  fitted  by  notches  or  gains  to  the  true  edges  of  a,  which 
is  slid  along  the  jaw,  back  and  forth,  from  end  to  end,  by  the 
endless  set-screw  and  wheel  c,  fastened  in  front  of  the  iron  plate 
a.  d  is  the  handle  of  the  iron  plate  which  holds  the  file  which 
plays  back  and  forth  in  the  iron  post  E,  which  is  fastened  to  an 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  415 

adjustable  iron  plate,  which  is  bolted  to  the  slide  I.  f  is  a  thumb 
set-screw,  to  regulate  the  proper  depth  to  file  the  teeth.  H  is 
another  set-screw,  for  holding  the  file  at  any  desired  angle. 

621.  When  a  saw  is  filed  with  such  a  filer,  put  it  in  the  clamp 
very  true,  with  one  end  just  as  high  above  the  jaws  as  the  other. 
Adjust  the  file  to  file  hooked  or  not,  and,  with  the  set-screw  and 
wheel,  run  the  slide  b  to  one  end  of  the  clamp.     Now,  adjust  the 
post  E  by  the  thumb-screw  on  the  lower  end,  to  hold  the  file  at 
the  desired  angle.     File  the  teeth  on  one  side  of  the  saw,  and 
carry  the  post  E  around,  so  as  to  bring  the  file  at  the  same  angle 
in  the  opposite  direction.     After  having  filed  one  tooth,  turn  the 
set  wheel  around  once  or  twice,  more  or  less,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  teeth,  which  will  draw  the  slide  b  along  just  so  far. 
If  the  slide  is  drawn  along  only  a  trifle  too  far  at  one  time,  and 
not  quite  so  far  the  next  time,  the  teeth  will  not  all  be  of  a  uni 
form  length.     The  file  is  so  hung  that  in  thrusting  from  you  it 
will  cut,  and  can  be  raised  a  little  when  drawing  it  back.     There 
are  several  styles  of  patent  filers.     The  proprietor  of  this  one  is 
Mr.  H.  Miller,  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  who  will  furnish  both  filers  and 
rights  to  manufacture. 

622.  Fig.  172  exhibits  a  section  of  a  slitting  hand-saw  well 
filed.      It  will  be  seen  by  the  figure  that  the  faces  of  the  teeth 

FIG.   172. 


/N 

N 

\i 

N 

\ 

rr 

N 

\j\ 

N 

\ 

i 

SLITTING-SAW  WELL  FILED. 


are  at  right  angles  to  the  cutting  edges,  or  points,  and  are  all 
filed  square  across.  It  is  not  practicable  to  saw  across  the  grain 
with  a  saw  filed  in  this  manner. 

613.  Fig.  173  is  a  crosscut  section  of  a  hand-saw  well  filed. 
The  faces  of  the  teeth  are  at  right  angles  with  the  dotted  lines 
along  the  points.     Many  filers  contend,  that  if  the  faces  of  the 
18 


416 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


v    teeth  are  filed  at  right  angles  they  will  be  too  hooked.      But  if 
filed  in  this  style  a  saw  will  cut  much  faster  and  easier,  and  it 

FIG.   173. 


C!;os<(TT    WELL   FILED. 


coincides  with  the  manner  of  filing  adopted  by  our  best  me 
chanics. 

624.  Fig.  174  shows  a  saw  badly  filed;  but  it  is  an  exact  rep- 

FIG.  174. 


BADLY  FILED. 


resentation  of  many  saws  that  have  been  filed  by  those  who  do 
not  understand  the  principle  on  which  saws  are  sharpened.  By 
a  glance  at  the  dotted  line  along  the  edge  it  will  be  seen  that  a  few 
teeth  only  must  do  all  the  sawing.  (See  Par.  611.)  I  have 
taken  this  figure  from  a  saw  that  was  brought  to  me  to  be  filed ;  and 
some  parts  of  it  had  been  filed  worse  than  this.  It  had  been  filed 
with  old  worn-out  files  until  its  proprietor  found  it  impossible  to 
cut  off  a  narrow  board  with  it. 

625.  Now  in  order  to  put  it  in  sawable  order  it  was  put  in  the 
clamp  and  jointed,  and  all  of  the  teeth  started  in  filing  of  the 
proper  form,  and  then  the  teeth  were  set.  It  is  not  always  most 
advisable  to  restore  such  teeth  to  the  most  proper  form  at  one  fil 
ing  unless  one  has  much  sawing  to  perform.  If  a  saw-filer  is 
used  it  will  be  much  easier  to  restore  the  correct  form  of  the  teeth 
than  it  will  be  when  filing  by  hand.  When  filing  such  a  saw  by 


417 

hand,  after  it  has  been  jointed  place  a  try-square  against  the  edge, 
and  with  the  sharp  point  of  a  file  make  a  scratch  across  the  blade 
ror  the  face  of  each  tooth,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines  Figs.  172 
and  173,  and  then  file  the  teeth  only  in  part  to  a  point  the  first 
time  across  from  end  to  end.  Some  filers  always  change  ends 
with  a  saw  after  filing  one  side.  But  it  is  of  little  consequence 
how  a  man  files,  if  he  only  does  it  in  a  workmanlike  manner. 
After  a  saw  has  been  filed,  in  order  to  have  it  cut  a  kerf  a  little 
wider  than  the  blade  the  points  of  the  teeth  must  be  set. 

SETTING  SAWS. 
FIGS.  175,    176,          177. 


CKOSS   SECTIONS   OF   SAWS. 


626.  Fig.  175   represents  a  cross  section  of  a  saw  with  the 
points  of  the  fleam-pointed  teeth  set,  showing  the  cleaners,  or 
teeth  that  are  filed  square  across.     (See  Par.  653.) 

627.  Fig.  176  is  a  section  of  saw  in  which  all  the  teeth  have 
been  set.     When  a  saw  is  well  filed  it  will  appear  like  these  fig 
ures  when  viewed  endways,  and  a  cambric  needle  may  be  slid 
along  between  the  points  of  the  teeth,  from  one  end  of  a  saw  to 
the  other. 

628.  Fig.  177  is  a  section  of  a  saw,  the  teeth  of  which  are  set 
more  than  they  ought  to  be  for  the  thickness  of  the  plate ;  and 
the  whole  teeth  having  been  set  too  much,  the  points  have  been 
worn  off,  so  that  it  will  work  very  hard,  and  perhaps  not  at  all 
without  great  power.     This  shows  the  importance  of  setting  as 
little  of  the  points  as  practicable. 

629.  There  are  two  kinds  of  set  for  saw  teeth, — lent  set  and 


418  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

swedged  set.  Bent  set  is  used  for  both  crosscut  and  slitting-saws ; 
but  swedged  set  is  used  only  for  saws  that  cut  lengthways  of  the 
grain.  There  are  two  kinds  of  lent  set,  but  we  shall  notice  but 
one  in  this  work. 

630.  The  least  possible  amount  of  set,  in  either  a  crosscut  or 
ripping-saw,  and  have  the  saw  work  easily,  is  the  best.      The 
greater  the  amount  of  set  the  wider  will  be  the  kerf;  and  the 
wider  the  kerf  the  greater  must  be  the  power  to  drive  a  saw. 
Soft  wood  requires  more  set  than  hard  wood.     A  good  saw  often 
does  bad  work  in  consequence  of  too  much  set.      If  there  is  too 
much  set,  a  saw  will  sometimes  run  in  consequence  of  it ;  and 
sometimes,  especially  if  the  feed  is  heavy,  if  there  is  too  much 
set,  a  saw  will  often  make  a  rough  and  jagged  cut,  which  makes 
a  saw  run  hard. 

631.  The  rudest  and  simplest  mode  of  setting  a  saw  is,  to  lay 
the  blade  of  it  on  a  smooth  end  of  a  block  of  hard  wood,  and  with 
a  punch  and  hammer  bend  the  point  of  every  other  tooth  by  a 
single  blow,  and  then  turn  the  saw  over  and  set  the  other  side, 
being  careful  to  place  the  punch  on  each  tooth  in  the  same  place, 
and  to  gauge  the  force  of  each  blow  as  nearly  as  may  be.     If  the 
FIGS.  178      179.  Puncn  *s  placed  near  the  points  of  some  teeth 

and  near  the  roots  of  others,  the  teeth  will  be 
set  very  unevenly.  Two  or  three  teeth  on  each 
side  should  be  set  near  the  end  of  the  saw  first; 
and  then,  if  there  appears  to  be  too  little  or  too 
much  set  in  these  teeth,  let  the  blows  be  lighter 
or  heavier,  as  may  be  necessary. 

632.  Fig.  178  represents  an  edge-view  of  a 
slitting-saw  having  the  teeth  set  by  bending  the 
points. 

633.  Fig.  179  is  an  edge- view  of  a  slitting- 
saw  having  the  teeth  set,  or  spread,  by  swedging. 
It  is  not  practicable  to  set  small  saws  by  swedg 

SLIT-   ing  the  points. 


EDGE   VIEW   OF 
TING-SAWS. 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  419 

SAW   SETS, 

634.  Of  many  different  styles,  may  be  obtained  at  hardware 
stores.     It  matters  little  what  the  set  is,  if  it  will  only  set  all  the 
teeth  true.      JBow-saws,  billet-saws,  and  all  other  saws  having  a 
very  narrow  blade,  must  sometimes  be  set  with  a  punch,  or  nail 
set.     (See  Par.  631.) 

635.  Fig.  180  represents  a  punch  for  setting  a  rip-saw,  which 

FIG.  180. 


^-  SWEDGING   SAW    SET.  EESS^ 


is  made  of  steel,  and  well  hardened,  with  an  iron  band  around  it, 
near  the  crotched  end,  to  prevent  its  splitting.  The  fork  is  made 
with  a  triangular  file,  while  the  steel  is  yet  soft,  of  an  angle  more 
obtuse  than  the  saw  teeth,  and  left  a  little  crowning  at  the  bot 
tom  of  the  fork,  from  side  to  side.  Before  the  set  is  hardened, 
make  the  crotch  a  little  deeper  with  a  sharp  cold-chisel,  to  pre 
vent  dulling  the  points  of  the  teeth. 

636.  To  set  with  a  crotched  punch  after  the  saw  has  been 
jointed  and  filed,  let  the  punch  be  held  steadily  and  firmly  against 
the  point  of  the  tooth,  parallel  with  the  side  of  the  saw,  and  with 
light  blows  with  a  hammer  weighing  about  a  pound,  (with  a  still 
lighter  hammer  if  the  teeth  be  small,)  spread  the  points  of  the 
teeth  like  the  tail  of  a  dove  (Fig.  179),  both  ways  from  the  cen 
tre.  Heavy  blows  will  be  liable  to  bend  the  teeth.  As  the  crotch 
of  the  punch  is  a  little  convex  lengthways  of  it,  by  varying  the 
position  of  the  punch  the  point  of  the  tooth  may  be  spread  to  the 
required  extent.  After  the  points  are  spread  enough,  the  cutting 
edge  of  each  tooth  may  be  drawn  out  with  the  hammer  by  hold 
ing  a  heavy  piece  of  iron  firmly  against  the  face  or  bottom  of  the 
tooth.  This  operation  saves  a  vast  amount  of  filing.  In  spread 
ing  the  teeth  of  a  circular  saw,  the  set  may  be  gauged  by  allow 
ing  the  saw  to  revolve  slowly,  when  every  tooth  must  be  spread 
sufficiently  to  just  touch  the  end  of  a  stick  of  hard  wood.  In 


420  THE    YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

case  a  tooth  should  get  set  a  little  too  much,  the  side  of  the  point 
may  be  dressed  off  a  little  with  a  file,  being  careful  to  have  the 
side  edge  of  the  face  of  the  teeth  more  prominent  than  they  are 
back  of  the  face  edges.  If  there  should  be  any  play  of  the  man 
drel  endways,  it  must  be  held  against  one  shoulder  of  the  bearing 
while  it  is  being  set.  This  mode  of  setting  will  make  a  circular 
saw  of  uneven  thickness,  or  that  has  little  kinks  in  it,  cut  much 
truer,  and  work  easier,  than  if  the  set  of  the  teeth  were  gauged 
by  the  side  of  the  saw  plate.  The  teeth  of  circular  saws  for  cut 
ting  across  the  grain  of  wood,  the  points  of  which  are  spread  by 
bending  instead  of  swedging,  may  be  gauged  in  setting  by  the  end 
of  a  stick  instead  of  the  side  of  the  plate. 

637.  A  saw  set  that  is  used  for  lending  teeth  should  have  not 
only  a  set-screw  to  gauge  the  amount  of  set,  but  should  have  a 
brass  or  copper  plate  for  the  points  of  the  teeth  to  rest  against 
when  the  saw  is  being  set,  which  plate  may  be  adjusted  to  allow 
the  teeth  to  enter  the  set  just  so  far  and  no  farther.     A  saw  set 
that  has  no  adjustable  plate,  but  receives  some  teeth  half  their 
length,  and  only  the  points  of  others,  is  an  improper  instrument 
to  set  teeth  with.     If  a  saw  set,  for  instance,  takes  hold  of  one 
tooth  near  its  point,  and  bends  it  as  much  as  the  gauge-screw 
will  admit  of,  and  if  the  set  is  then  put  on  the  next  tooth  farther 
than  it  was  on  the  first  tooth,  the  teeth  on  which  the  set  was 
placed  the  farthest,  will  receive  the  most  set,  even  if  the  set- 
screw  is  made  to  touch  the  plate  alike  in  setting  each  individual 
tooth. 

638.  There  is  great  danger,  in  setting  the  teeth  of  saws  which 
have  a  high  temper,  or  which  are  very  hard,  of  breaking  them, 
especially  in  cold  weather.     Whenever  a  hard  saw  or  a  thick  one 
is  to  be  set,  it  should  be  well  warmed  before  any  teeth  arc  set. 
The  teeth  of  some  good  saws  when  they  are  very  cold  will  snap 
almost  like  glass  when  we  attempt  to  set  them.     The  best  way 
to  warm  the  teeth  is,  to  pour  hot  water  on  them  before  setting? 
unless  the  saw  can  be  taken  into  a  warm  room.     This  applies  not 
only  to  circular  saws,  but  to  all  kinds  of  long  saws  ;  and  the  tyro 
will  ever  regret  that  he  did  not  warm  his  saw  previous  to  setting 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  421 

the  teeth,  after  having  broken  several  teeth  of  a  good  saw  in 
consequence  of  not  warming  it. 

639.  The  teeth  of  a  very  soft  saw  will  require  more  set  than  a 
hard  saw  of  the  same  thickness ;   because,  in  the  hard  saw  the 
edge  is  more  perfect,  and  the  cut  of  such  a  saw  of  course  will  be 
cleaner  and  smoother.      On  the  contrary,   a  very  coarse    edge, 
instead  of  cutting  the  fibres  of  wood  smoothly,  tears  them  in 
two,  leaving  the  sides  of  the  kerf  very  rough,  which  makes  a 
saw  work  hard.     Avoid  setting  the  teeth  too  wide  in  any  saw. 

640.  To  take  the  set  out  of  a  saw  which  has  too  much  set  in 
the  teeth,  lay  it  on  a  smooth  stick  of  timber,  and  lay  a  hard, 
smooth  plank  on  the  sides  of  the  teeth,  and  strike  on  it  with  a 
heavy  hammer ;  or,  use  a  set. 

TWO-HAND    CROSSCUT    SAWS. 

641.  Fig.  181  represents  a  two-hand  crosscut  saw,  with  teeth 
of  a  proper  form  at  one  end,  while  at  the  other  end  they  are  repre 
sented  as  they  are  too  often  filed  in  old  saws  which  have  been 
filed  with  old  files.     The  dotted  lines  show  how  much  should  be 
filed  out  in  order  to  make  them  of  the  proper  form.     Although 
there  is  the  same  number  of  teeth  per  foot  when  filed  at  such 
an  obtuse  angle  as  is  shown  at  the  left  hand,  the  teeth  will 
not  cut  half  as  fast  as  they  will  when  filed  like  those  at  the  right 

FIG.  181. 

^tfzfrf^^^ 


A  CE088-OUT  SAW. 


hand.  When  teeth  are  filed  short  and  Uunt,  they  require  more 
force  to  make  a  saw  cut,  on  the  same  principle  that  a  man  with  a 
thin  axe  will  be  able  to  chop  faster  than  he  will  with  one  having 
a  very  thick  blade. 

642.  The  teeth  in  crosscut  saws  are  almost  always  too  far 
apart  to  work  well.  Many  a  good  saw  has  been  spoiled  by  some 
knowing  know-nothing,  who  has  cut  away  every  alternate  tooth 


422  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

with  a  view  to  make  a  saw  cut  faster.  Suppose,  for  instance, 
that  we  cut  away  four-fifths  of  the  teeth,  how  fast  will  a  saw 
cut  ?  For  sawing  timber  of  ordinary  size,  the  teeth  should  not 
be  more  than  one  inch  apart.  When  a  saw  jumps  and  jerks 
along,  it  is  very  certain  evidence  that  the  teeth  are  too  far  apart. 
The  smaller  in  diameter  the  timber  is,  the  closer  together  the 
teeth  should  be,  in  order  to  work  best  and  smoothest.  As  the 
teeth  of  two-hand  crosscut  saws  are  filed  without  any  hook,  they 
should  be  filed  rather  slim  and  narrow  at  the  base  or  roots,  in 
order  to  cut  the  fastest. 

643.  Improved  two-hand  crosscut  saws  are  now  manufactured 
with  every  third  tooth  formed  like  a  cat's  claw,  and  filed  square 
across,  and  about  a  sixteenth  of  an  inch  shorter  than  the  others* 
which  are  filed  very  fleaming.     They  are  much  superior  to  the 
common  kind  of  saws. 

PUTTING    TWO-HAND    CROSSCUT    SAWS    IN    ORDER. 

644.  Dress  out  two  strips  of  board,  with  one  edge  of  each  one 
of  the  same  circle  as  the  cutting  edge  of  the  saw,  and  screw 
them  together  with  the  saw  between  them,  like  Fig.  182,  which 
shows  a  combined  clamp  and  jointer,  with  the  longest  teeth  of  a 
saw  extending  above  the  edges  of  the  clamp.     The  screws  are 

FIG.  182. 


A  CROSSCUT  SAW  WITH  HANDLES. 

put  between  the  teeth.     Adjust  the  clamp  so  that  the  long  teeth 
will  extend  a  little  above  the  edge,  and  with  a  file  dress  them 
off  even  with  the  edge  of  the  clamp.     After  it  is   jointed  take 
out  the  screws,  and  place  the  saw  in  the  bench-vise,  and  file  it. 
645.  In  filing,  always  endeavor  to  file  the  spaces  as  deep  or 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  423 

deeper  than  they  were  originally  made.  This  will  keep  the  teeth 
of  a  good  length,  and  a  saw  will  never  need  to  be  gummed. 
Never  file  with  an  old  worn-out  file  ;  because,  although  the  teeth 
may  be  filed  to  a  point,  the  spaces  will  not  be  deepened  ;  and  in 
a  short  time  it  will  cost  far  more  to  gum  a  saw  than  it  would  to 
keep  the  teeth  of  a  suitable  length  by  filing  them.  If  the  teeth 
are  filed  very  fleaming,  or  diagonally,  it  will  be  necessary  to  file 
about  every  seventh  tooth  square  across,  and  a  little  shorter  than 
the  others.  When  all  the  teeth  are  filed  fleaming,  if  they  are 
filed  at  an  angle  of  about  ten  or  fifteen  degrees  with  the  face  of 
the  te'eth,  they  will  remove  the  core  or  dust  as  fast  as  they  cut. 

646.  After  filing,   set  the  points  of  the   teeth  a  very  little. 
The  least  possible  set,  and  have  a  saw  work  easily,  will  cause  it 
to  run  the  truest  and  the  best.     If  a  saw  is  kept  as  sharp  as  it 
ought  to  be,  it  will  seldom  need  any  more  set  when  cutting  soft 
wood,  than  it  will  when  cutting  hard  wood.     "When  a  saw  cuts 
a  jagged,  rough,  uneven  cut,  it  is  a  sign  that  the  saw  is  not  set 
true,  or  that  the  set  has  been  taken  out  of  some  of  the  teeth. 

647.  When  the  whole  tooth  is  set,  the  set  is  very  liable  to  be 
taken  out  by  allowing  the  saw  to  be  pinched  between  the  ends 
of  a  log  when  it  is  nearly  sawed  in  two.     This  may  be  the  cause 
of  its  running.     Perhaps  a  few  teeth  are  a  trifle  shorter  on  one 
side  than  on  the  other,  made  so  either  by  filing  or  dulling.     In 
this  case  the  teeth  should  be  jointed  and  filed  of  an  equal  length. 
If  the  set  is  out  and  the  saw  runs  towards  the  top  end  of  the  log, 
give  the  teeth  on  the  opposite  side  a  little  more  set.     In  sawing 
logs  for  staves,  spokes,  and  shingles,  it  is  important  that  the  saw 
run  true,  else  there  is  danger  of  sawing  one  side  of  the  log  too 
short. 

HANDLING    A    CROSSCUT    SAW 

648.  Kequires  the  exercise  of  a  little  activity  and  agility,  else 
the  work  will  be  rendered  laborious.     The  hands  of  the  sawer 
should   merely  hang  loosely  on  the  handles,  allowing  the  handle 
freedom  to  play  up  and  down,  as  the  saw  adjusts  itself  in  its  pas 
sage  through  the  log.     After  a  saw  has  entered  a  log  sufficiently 

18* 


424 

to  keep  itself  erect,  if  a  sawyer  is  inclined  "  to  ride,"  as  it  is 
called,  it  would  be  well  to  pass  a  rope  or  strap  of  leather  around 
the  handle  for  him  to  pull  by.  A  good  sawyer  must  make 
long,  elastic  motions  with  the  arms,  and  let  the  saw  play  lively, 
lightly,  and  freely  through  the  log,  and  if  the  saw  is  in  good 
order,  the  ends  of  the  log  will  be  as  true  as  if  they  had  been 
turned  off.  Let  the  saw  be  kept  well-jointed  and  properly  set, 
and  not  allowed  to  become  rusty,  and  it  will  work  easy  and  cut 
fast. 

THE    MANNER    OF    FILING    COMPASS    SAWS. 

649.  Compass  saws,  and  billet-web  saws,  and  such  as  are  used 
in  a  frame,  for  sawing  felloes,  and  other  circular  work,  cut  as 
much  lengthways  of  the  grain  as  they  do  crossways  ;  and  if  filed 
for  crosscutting,  they  do  not  work  well  in  sawing  lengthways  of 
the  grain ;    and  if  filed  exclusively  for  ripping,  they  will  not 
work  at  all  when  they  come  to  that  portion  of  the  circle  which 
crosses  the  grain  of  the  wood.     Most  mechanics  file  such  saws 
but  a  little  fleaming,  but  I  think  they  will  cut  smoother  and  faster 
by  filing  every  third  tooth  for  ripping,  making  it  a  little   shorter 
than  the  teeth  filed  fleaming.     The  object  of  this  is,  when  the 
saw  comes  to  that  part  of  a  circle  which  runs  lengthways  of  the 
grain,  teeth  filed  fleaming  will  not  chip  well ;    therefore,  every 
third  tooth  being  filed  for  ripping,  and  not  set,  will  cut  away  the 
centre  of  the  kerf  as  fast  as  the  fleaming  teeth  cut  the  sides  of  it. 
Compass  and  billet-saws  being  so  narrow,  they  cannot  advan 
tageously  be   set  with   an  ordinary  set,  but   must  be   set  with  a 
nail  set,  or  punch  and  hammer,  by  laying  them  on  the  square 
end  of  a  block  of  hard  wood,  and  by  giving  each  tooth  an  equal 
blow  with  the  hammer. 

650.  The  blades  of  compass  and  all  other  saws  for  cutting  cir 
cular  work,  should  be   thinner  on  the   lack  than  they  are  at  the 
cutting  edge.     When  of  this  form  they  will  turn  in  sawing  a 
small  circle  with  less  set  than  they  possibly  can  when  the  blade 
is  all  of  a  uniform  thickness. 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


425 


CIRCULAR    SAWS. 

651.  Fig.  183  represents  a  circular  saw  with  four  different 
kinds  of  teeth.  Three  kinds,  C  B,  B  A,  and  A  D,  are  for  rip 
ping,  and  the  portion  between  D  C  is  for  cutting  across  the 
grain.  To  find  the  angle  for  filing  the  face  of  the  teeth,  strike  a 
circle,  the  dotted  line  a,  half  the  diameter  of  the  saw,  and  a  line 
from  the  points  of  the  teeth  to  one  side  of  this  circle,  will  give 

FIG.   183. 


A  CraOTTLAR  SAW   HAVING  FOUB  KINJJ8   OP  TEETH. 

the  hook  of  the  teeth.  The  marks  may  be  made  with  the  sharp 
point  of  a  steel  file.  The  angle  for  the  hook  of  the  teetji  may  be 
more  obtuse  or  acute,  as  at  5,  from  A  to  _D.  TJie  teeth  between 
J5  and  C  are  kept  in  order  with  less  filing  than  those  with  circu- 


426  THE   YOUNG   FAEMER's   MANUAL. 

lar  backs  between  A  and  B.  Those  teeth  between  A  and  B  are 
the  strongest,  and  if  the  spaces-  at  the  roots  of  them  be  filed  with 
a  half-round  file,  the  teeth  will  be  still  stronger.  The  lacks  of 
the  teeth  for  one-fourth  or  half  an  inch  back  from  the  points, 
according  to  the  size  of  the  teeth,  should  be  on  a  line  drawn  from 
the  point  of  one  tooth  to  a  point  as  much  below  the  point  of  the 
tooth  behind  it,  as  each  tooth  is  required  to  cut  in  depth,  as  at  c  c. 
If,  for  example,  a  saw  cuts  one  inch  in  one  revolution,  and  has 
forty  teeth,  the  teeth  back  of  the  points  must  be  filed  below  the 
points,  so  as  to  be  on  a  line  drawn  from  one-fortieth  of  an  inch 
below  one  point,  c  c,  to  the  point  of  the  tooth  forward  of  it. 
Such  a  shape  will  allow  the  teeth  to  cut  just  as  easily  as  if  the 
backs  of  them  were  like  those  between  0  and  D.  The  filer 
should  be  very  careful  to  have  the  points  of  the  teeth  more 
prominent  than  they  are  just  back  of  the  cutting  points.  These 
teeth,  that  are  formed  like  those  between  A  and  J9,  will  cut 
very  much  faster,  and  with  less  power  than  either  of  the  other 
kinds.  They  seem  to  cut  a  kerf  through  a  stick,  while  teeth 
with  less  hook  scrape  or  file  out  the  kerf.  But  teeth  of  such 
a  shape  must  be  made  only  in  a  saw  of  the  very  best  materials, 
and  for  sawing  hard  and  knotty  wood  there  is  great  danger  of 
breaking  them,  For  all  soft  wood  such  teeth  work  most  admi 
rably.  Such  teeth  must  never  be  bent  in  setting,  but  swedged 
with  the  swedging  set,  Fig.  180.  The  teeth  between  C  and  D 
are  for  cutting  across  the  grain.  The  correct  hook  is  found  by 
drawing  a  line  from  the  points  of  the  teeth  to  the  centre  of  the 
saw ;  or,  at  a  right  angle  to  the  cutting  edge  of  the  saw.  This  is 
allowed  to  be  the  best  angle  for  the  face  of  all  crosscutting  saws, 
except  such  as  have  no  hook  tp  the  teeth,  like  Fig.  181.  It  is 
of  very  little  consequence  so  far  as  cutting  is  concerned,  what 
the  shape  of  the  back  of  a  tooth  is,  if  the  part  lack  of  the  point 
is  far  enough  back  of,  or  below  the  line  of  motion,  in  which  the 
points  move,  for  all  the  teeth  to  enter  the  wood  freely.  If  the 
lack  of  a  tooth  be  higher  than  the  point,  a  tooth  must  wear  its 
way  through  a  stick  instead  of  cutting  through. 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  427 


JOINTING    A    CIRCULAR    SAW. 

652.  If  a  circular  saw  is  not  as  round  as  may  be,  the  teeth  on 
one  side  will  cut  too  deep  at  each  revolution,  and  on  the  other 
side  will  not  cut  as  deep  as  they  ought  to  cut ;  and,  therefore,  at 
every  revolution  one   side  will  sometimes  take  such  a  rank  hold 
as  to  produce  a  jar,  or  spring  the  teeth,  thus  making  a  rough  cut. 
Some  mechanics  use  for  jointing  circular  saws,  a  kind  of  templet  or 
template,  one  end  of  which  is  rested  on  the  collar  of  the  mandrel. 
But  that  is  not  as  correct  and  easy  for  beginners  as  the  manner 
recommended  at  Par.  616.     When  a  large  circular  saw  is  jointed 
by  being  made  to  revolve  backwards  while  a  file  is  held  against 
the  points,  the  impact  or  friction  is  so  intense,  that  the  teeth  will 
wear  out  a  file  wherever  it  touches  the  saw.     When  large  teeth 
need  much  jointing,  hold  a  bar  of  lead  near  the  points  for  every 
one  to  touch  as  they  pass  it ;   lead  will  not  dull  them  :    and  then 
file  off  the  points  of  the  long  teeth  until  the  facet  made  by  the 
jointing-file  on  the  ends  of  them,  will  be  even  with  the  points  of 
the  shortest  teeth.     Now,  set  it  and  file  it. 

FILING    CIRCULAR    SAWS. 

653.  The  best  and  most  convenient  place  for  filing  a  circular 
saw  is  on  its  mandrel,  providing  there  is  sufficient  light  to  enable 
one  to  see  the  points  of  the  teeth.     Some  mechanics  always  take 
the  saw  off  the   mandrel  and   put  it  in  a  vise  when  filing.     But 
any  contrivance  which  will  hold  a  saw  firmly  on  the   side  which 
is  being  filed  is  all  that  is  necessary.     I  always  have  used  for 
this  purpose   two  sticks,  one  on  each  side  of  the  saw,  extending 
from  the  saw  to  some  part  of  the  frame.     Every  tooth  should  be 
brought  to  the  top  of  the  saw  when  it  is  filed  ;   because  any  one 
can  file  better  on  the  top  of  a  saw  than  on  the  sides  of  it.     And, 
if.  every  tooth  is  brought  to  just  such  a  position  before  it  is  filed, 
they  are  more  likely  to  be  filed  alike.     If  the  teeth  are  to  be  filed 
square  across,  every  tooth  may  be  filed  while  standing  on  one  side 
of  the  saw  ;   but  if  the  teeth  are  to  be  filed  fleaming  or  bevel 
ling,  it  is  better  to  file  the   teeth  on  one   side  while  standing  on 


428 

one  side  of  the  saw,  and  to  file  the  other  side  when  standing  on 
the  opposite  side.  The  same  rules  hold  good  for  filing  circular 
saws  that  are  observed  for  filing  long  saws.  A  circular  saw  for 
cutting  across  the  grain  should  have  not  less  than  four  t^eth — • 
one  on  each  side  of  the  saw — filed  square  across,  and  a  little 
shorter  than  the  others,  to  cut  out  the  chip.  These  teeth  should 
have  a  good  hook.  All  the  teeth  should  be  kept  as  nearly  of  a 
size  and  length  as  possible ;  and  for  this  purpose  the  templet 
(see  Fig.  184)  should  be  placed  on  every  tooth  before  it  is  filed, 
in  order  to  show  whether  or  not  a  tooth  has  the  desired  shape. 
It  is  sometimes  a  very  good  practice  in  filing  any  kind  of  saw, 
and  especially  if  it  is  a  very  soft  saw,  to  go  over  all  the  teeth 
with  a  very  fine  file,  or  with  one  that  is  nearly  worn  out,  after 
they  have  been  brought  to  an  edge  with  a  sharp  file.  This  pro 
cess  gives  the  teeth  a  more  perfect  edge.  A  good  fine  edge  can 
never  be  obtained  with  a  coarse  file,  if  the  strokes  be  made  ever 
so  light.  The  finishing  strokes  with  the  file  should  always  be 
made  from  you,  and  if  the  teeth  be  fleam-pointed,  the  strokes  of 
the  file  should  be  made  in  the  same  direction  that  the  teeth  are 
bent  in  setting.  My  twenty-four-inch  circular  saw,  for  cutting 
fire-wood,  with  teeth  an  inch  and  one-fourth  apart,  is  filed  fleaming, 
at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees ;  and  every  fifth  tooth  is 
filed  square,  and  a  sixteenth  of  an  inch  shorter  than  the  others ; 
and  I  have  never  met  with  a  saw  before  which  will  run  through 
large  knots  and  gnarls  so  noiselessly,  and  with  so  little  power,  and 
cut  so  neatly.  , 

654.  There  are  several  styles  of  saw-filers  for  filing  circular 
saws.     But  a  man  should  have  more  saws  to  file  than  a  common 
farmer  usually  owns,  in  order  "  to  make  it  pay  "  to  purchase  a 
filer,  which  costs  from  $10  to  $15.     A  little  practice   and  skill 
are  more  important  than  a  saw-filer,  unless  some  cheaper  article 
shall  be  invented  than  any  with  which  I  have  ever  met. 

WHERE    TO    OBTAIN    THE    BEST    PATENT    GROUND    SAWS. 

655.  The  best  saws  of  every  kind  with  which  I  have  ever 
met,  wern   manufactured  by  R.  Hoe  &   Co.,   29  Gold   st.?  New 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  429 

York  city,  and  by  Andrews  &  Burbage,  Elmira,  N.  Y.  Their 
patent  ground  circulars  sustain  an  unrivalled  reputation  through 
out  the  States,  not  only  for  sawing  lumber,  but  for  farmers'  wood- 
saws.  :*The  patent  ground  circulars  are  thicker  in  the  centre  than 
they  are  at  the  cutting  edge,  and  are  ground  of  a  uniform  taper 
from  the  centre  to  the  edge,  which  shape  renders  them  stronger 
than  those  which  are  ground  in  the  usual  manner ;  and  they 
require  less  set,  and,  as  a  consequence,  less  power  is  required  to 
drive  them  ;  and  they  are  less  liable  to  become  heated  ;  and  they 
do  not  wear  out  so  many  files,  because  the  teeth  are  thinner ; 
and,  more  than  all,  they  possess  a  superior  temper  ;  and  are  made 
of  the  best  of  steel.  I  have  two  of  them  in  use,  and  although  I 
am  a  stranger  to  the  manufacturers  of  these  saws,  I  would  not 
exchange  one  of  these  saws  for  a  gross  of  common  saws.  If  a 
farmer  desires  a  good  saw  of  any  kind,  and  made  of  any  thick 
ness,  or  of  any  style  of  teeth,  or  if  he  has  an  old  saw  which  needs 
to  be  re-toothed,  or  re-tempered,  or  straightened,  he  need  not  fear 
to  confide  in  either  of  these  companies. 

HANGING    CIRCULAR    SAWS. 

656.  It  is  a  pretty  nice  piece  of  work  to  hang  a  circular  saw 
just  right.     It  is  an  impossibility  to  make  a  saw  mathematically 
true,  or  to  hang  it  to  run  with  mathematical  precision  ;    but  it  is 
easy  for  a  good  mechanic  to  approximate  as  near   perfection  in 
this  respect   as  is  of  practical  use.     A  good  saw  is  often  con 
demned  when  the  whole  fault  is  in  the  mandrel  on  which  it  turns ; 
and  a  badly  fitted  mandrel  is  liable  to  spoil  a  good  saw. 

657.  The  idea  to  be  kept  in  mind  is,  to  have  the  collars  or 
flanges  turned  as  true  as  possible ;   and  any  deviation  in  the  col 
lars  from  trueness,  will  multiply  this  deviation   in  the  saw  just  as 
many  times  as  the  saw  is  larger  than  the  collars.     The  bearings 
of  the  mandrel  should  be  turned  first,  and  then  the  face  of  the 
collar  should  be  turned  off  very  true,  without  changing  ends  of 
the  mandrel  in  the  lathe.     Sometimes  the  centres  or  points  in  a 
lathe  deviate   a  trifle,  and  by  changing  ends  with   the  mandrel, 
a,nd  finishing  a  part  of  it  with  the  ends  in  opposite  directions,  the 


430  THE    YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

bearings  will  not  be  true  with  the  collars.  If  the  lathe  be  rather 
light,  and  it  springs  when  the  collars  are  being  turned,  the  man 
drel  should  be  put  in  the  lathe,  and  the  face  of  the  fixed  collar 
turned  while  the  mandrel  revolves  on  its  own  bearingsfamd  not 
merely  on  the  centres  of  the  lathe.  Sometimes  the  collars  must 
be  turned  a  little  concave,  to  fit  the  saw  well,  and  sometimes  one 
must  be  a  little  concave  and  the  other  one  correspondingly  con 
vex  or  straight,  as  the  shape  of  the  saw  requires.  The  mandrel 
should  fit  snugly  the  eye  of  the  saw  without  any  play.  When 
the  saw  is  placed  on  the  mandrel,  if  it  deviates  any  in  revolving, 
it  may  be  adjusted  by  a  piece  or  two  of  paper,  between  the  col 
lar  and  the  saw,  and  be  made  to  run  with  the  greatest  precision. 
The  bearings  should  be  so  neatly  fitted  to  the  boxes,  that  there 
will  be  no  working  of  it  up  and  down,  nor  any  play  endways. 
(See  FITTING  UP  MACHINERY,  in  the  next  volume.)  In  sawing 
anything  where  exactness  is  not  necessary,  if  there  should  be  a 
little  play  of  the  mandrel  endways,  it  matters  not ;  but  in  sawing 
to  a  gauge,  if  there  be  much  play  of  the  mandrel  endways,  some 
pieces  will  be  thicker  or  longer  than  others,  according  to  the 
amount  of  play. 

BALANCING    SAWS. 

658.  When  saws  are  hung  on  a  mandrel  having  a  fly-wheel 
on  it,  if  it  is  not  well  balanced  the  saw  will  vibrate  or  flutter  at 
the  edge,  and  the  frame  will  shake  like  a  person  who  has  been 
attacked  with  the  quotidian  ague.  When  a  saw  is  well  balanced 
the  frame  will  not  tremble,  even  when  the  motion  is  very  high. 
(See  How  TO  BALANCE  A  SAW,  in  next  vol.) 


GUMMING    SAWS 

659.  Is  the  act  of  making  the  teeth  longer  by  making  the 
spaces  between  them  deeper.  This  is  performed  in  several  ways. 
The  best  mode,  but  most  expensive,  is,  to  gum  with  a  file;  be 
cause  by  gumming  with  a  file  there  is  no  danger  of  breaking  or 
bending  a  saw,  nor  of  stretching  the  edge.  And  if  the  spaces 


THE  YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  431 

were  filed  deeper,  as  the  points  wear  off  there  would  be  no  neces 
sity  for^jjj|r  gumming  saws  at  all. 

660.  Gumming  is  often  done  with  a  cold-chisel  and  hammer 
while  the  saw  lies  on  the  smooth  face  of  an  anvil,  or  an  equiva 
lent  to  an  anvil.     If  gummed  in  this  way,  it  must  be  done  with 
a  thin,  sharp  chisel  and  a  rather  light  hammer ;  and  the  operator 
cannot  be  too  particular  in  having  the  part  of  the  saw  opposite 
the  chisel  rest  level  on  the  anvil.      One  careless  blow  has  often 
broken  a  good  saw,  or  damaged  it  by  kinking  it  or  cracking  a 
tooth.     Both  ends  of  the  saw  should  be  supported  as  high  as  the 
surface  of  the  anvil,  and  then,  with  a  narrow  cold-chisel,  about 
one-fourth  of  an  inch  wide,  work  crossways  of  the  saw,  with  the 
edge  of  the  chisel  parallel  with  the  edge  of  the  saw.      Never 
cleave  at  one  cut  more  than  one-eighth  of  an  inch,  unless  the  chip 
be  cut  loose  first  on  the  ends.     If  the  chisel  stands  crossways  of 
the  saw,  in  working  the  spaces  deeper  there  is  great  danger  of 
stretching  the  edge  of  the  saw,  or  of  starting  the  teeth  near  the  roots. 

661.  Gumming  saws  with  a  machine  is  done  with  a  kind  of 
punch  playing  in  a  die  of  the  shape  of  the  spaces,  which  is  at 
tached  to  a  strong  lever,  and  the  saw  is  placed  between  the  die 
and  punch,  and  the  spaces  are  worked  deeper  by  nipping  a  little 
at  each  descent  of  the  lever.     In  gumming  with  a  machine  every 
alternate  tooth  should  be  gummed  with  the  saw  the  other  side  up. 
If  the  gumming  be  all  done  on  one  side  it  is  apt  to  lend  the  saw ; 
and  straightening  it  back  stretches  the  edge  ;  and,  in  stretching  the 
middle,  by  striking  the  saw  a  few  smart  blows  on  opposite  sides 
with  a  hammer  having  a  roundish  face,  when  the  saw  lies  on  a 
true  anvil  so  as  to  make  the  edges  straight,  there  is  great  danger 
of  breaking  a  saw.     The  cutting  edge  of  the   punch  should  have 
about  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch  bevel,  so  as  to  make  a   cleaner 
and  easier  cut  when  gumming  it. 

662.  There  is  always  more  or  less  danger  of  damaging  a  good 
saw  while  gumming  it ;  therefore  it  is  far  better  to  expend  a  dol 
lar  in  gumming  with  a  file  than  to  pay  a  dollar  for  gumming  with 
a  chisel  or  gummer. 

663.  In  order  to  have  all  the  spaces  and  the  teeth  of  a  uniform 


432 


THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


FlG.    184. 


size,  they  should  be  marked  out 
with  a   templet,   shojj^it  Fig. 
of  a  piece  of 


184,  which  is  made 
sheet-iron,  or  a  thin  piece  of  hard 
wood,  and  is  placed  withoneend 
on  the  collar  against  the  side  of 
the  saw ;  and  as  each  tooth  is  filed 
the  templet  may  be  placed  against 
the  saw,  in  order  to  determine 
whether  the  face  or  lack  of  a 
tooth  requires  more  filing  or  not. 

664.  Fig.  185  shows  the  form  of  a  templet  for  marking  out 

Fio.  185. 


MANNER  OP  MARKING  OUT  THE  CORRECT 
SHAPE  OF  SAW  TEETH. 


new  teeth  on  a  saw  like  the  shape  of  the  teeth  at  J,  Fig.  183. 
The  templet  may  be  formed  to  mark  out  any  style  of  teeth. 


MILL  SAWS. 

665.  "Why  is  lumber  often  sawed  of  all  shapes  and  of  variable 
thicknesses  at  the  great  majority  of  saw-mills  ?  In  most  instances 
it  is  in  consequence  of  the  saw  being  in  improper  order.  Should 
the  set  get  out  of  any  of  the  teeth  on  either  side,  by  passing  a 
hard  knot  a  saw  will  most  assuredly  run,  and  make  the  lumber 
thicker  or  thinner  in  the  middle  than  it  should  be.  From  what 
has  been'  said  of  filing  and  setting  other  saws,  the  tyro  will  be 
able  to  file  and  set  a  mill  saw  in  a  proper  manner.  Where  both 
hard  and  soft  logs  are  to  be  sawed,  it  would  be  good  policy  to 
have  a  saw  for  each  kind  of  wood.  For  sawing  hard  wood  logs 
the  plate  should  be  rather  thick  and  stiff,  with  the  teeth  nearer 
together,  and  rather  short,  to  retain  the  set  longer,  than  in  a  saw 
designed  solely  for  soft  wood.  In  order  to  saw  lumber  or  timber 
of  an  exact  size,  and  very  true  and  smooth,  the  saw  or  saws  must 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 


433 


be  in  perfect  order.     A  few  practical  directions  may  not  be  amiss 
on  the  sjjfect  of 

TEETH    IN   SAWS   WHICH    WORK    UP    AND    DOWN. 

66.  Fig.  186  represents  a  mill  saw  having  five  different  forms 
of  teeth.     At  a  the  teeth  are  filed  on  the  FIG.  186. 

face,  at  a  right  angle  with  the  cutting 
edge  of  the  saw,  and  the  backs,  or  upper 
sides,  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees. 
This  is  the  oldest  and  most  common  form 
of  teeth,  and  whether  filed  square  or 
bevelling,  more  power  is  required  to  drive 
a  saw  having  this  kind  of  teeth,  unless 
they  are  hammered  as  at  e.  Teeth  of 
this  form  remove  the  sawdust  by  scraping 
instead  of  cutting.  It  requires  less  skill  to 
keep  such  teeth  in  good  order  than  either 
of  the  other  kinds. 

667.  At  5  much  the  same  kind  of  teeth 
is  shown,  with  the  faces  filed  at  an  acute 
angle,  giving  them  a  greater  hook,  while 
the  lacks  are  of  the  same  angle.     If  the 
motion   were   high,   such  teeth  will  cut 
much  faster,  with  the  same  power,  than 
the  kind  at  a.     But  if  the  motion  be  very 
slow,  teeth  with  much  hook  are  liable  to 
draw  into  the  log  farther  than  they  are 
able  to  cut  without  staggering  or  trembling, 
as  if  having  too  much  feed. 

668.  At  c  and  d  are  two  different  kinds 
of    teeth,    which   operate   with   far   less 
power  than  those  at  a  and  5,  but  they 
require  much  more  skill  to  keep  them  in 
order.     But  by  using  a  templet  (see  Fig. 
185),  any  one  who  is  able  to  put  the  teeth 

of  any  saw  in  order  will  find  little   difficulty  v.-illi   those.     The 


434  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

teeth  at  c  should  be  filed  so  that  the  cutting  points  shall  be  one- 
sixteenth  or  one-twentieth  of  an  inch  more  promin^Bhan  they 
are  back  of  the  points.  (See  Fig.  183,  c.)  If  the  material  to  be 
sawed  be  such  that  each  tooth  is  required  to  cut  one-sixteenth  of 
an  inch,  by  filing  the  ends  of  the  teeth  so  that  a  line  dr^^Krom 
the  point  of  one  tooth  would  strike  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  below 
the  point  of  the  first  tooth  back  of  it,  the  saw  cannot  draw  into 
the  log  any  farther  than  it  will  cut  without  trembling,  even  if  the 
teeth  be  filed  very  hooked. 

669.  At  d  is  a  form  for  teeth  having  a  heel  or  guide  to  prevent 
the  saw  from  drawing  into  the  log  when  sawing.     The  guides  or 
heels  are  dressed  in  a  line  with  each  other,  at  a  given  distance 
back  of  the  cutting  edge.     If,  in  sawing,  the  saw  is  inclined  to 
haul  into  the  log,  the  heels  prevent  its  entering  any  farther  than 
is  desirable. 

670.  At  e  teeth  are  represented  with  the  points  hammered; 
i.  e.,  with  repeated  blows  on  the  back  of  a  tooth,  near  the  point, 
with  a  light  hammer,  the  edge  is  turned  downward.      There  is  a 
saving  of  nearly  one-half  the  power  by  hammering  the  teeth,  if 
it  be  performed  very  skillfully.      If  this  spur  should  not  all  be 
worn  off  before  filing  again,  it  is  necessary  to  hold  a  smooth  and 
square  piece  of  steel  against  the  face  of  the  tooth,  and  with  a  few 
blows  of  a  hammer  upwards,  bring  this  spur  on  a  line  with  the 
face  of  the  tooth,  so  that  it  will  not  be  filed  off  in  dressing  the 
tooth. 

671.  As  hammering  teeth,  either  for  the  purpose  of  setting 
them  or  turning  down  the  points,  refines  the  steel  and  renders  it 
harder,  the  cutting  quality  of  an  inferior  .saw  is  often  improved 
by  working  the  points  with  a  hammer  when  cold. 

672.  It  is  of  primary  importance  that  a  saw  which  works  up 
and  down,  should  be  jointed  straight  on  the  edge.     If  a  saw  is 
allowed  to  become  hollowing  on  the  cutting  edge  more  than  one- 
fourth  of  an  inch,  if  everything  is  not  made  doubly  strong,  we 
may  surely  expect  that  the  saw  or  something  else  will  break.     If 
the  cutting  edge  is  crowning  from   end   to  end,  a  saw  cannot  be 
made  to  work  up  to  its  greatest  capacity.     A  jointer  for  a  mill 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  435 

saw  mav^e  made  with  its  edges  straight  and  square,  like  the 
jointei^^m  crosscut  saw.  (See  Fig.  182.)  In  order  to  have  a 
saw  work  well,  it  should  be  jointed  every  alternate  time  it  is 
filed.  A  skillful  filer  will  take  a  square  block  a  foot  long,  and 
one  by  three  inches  square,  and  place  the  flat  side  of  it  against 
the  side  of  the  saw,  and,  holding  the  jointing-file  on  the  edge  of 
the  block,  joint  the  teeth  very  true. 

LENGTH  OF  THE  CUTTING  EDGE  OF  A  SAW. 

672^-.  When  a  saw  is  worked  by  a  crank  and  pitman,  all  the 
teeth  beyond  a  given  point  had  better  be  cut  away  ;  because,  it 
is  only  a  waste  of  time  and  tools,  to  keep  them  in  order  with  the 
teeth  that  do  all  the  sawing.  The  teeth  below  the  rabbet  on  the 
head-block,  when  the  crank  is  up  never  cut  any,  unless  in  sawing 
a  log  with  a  bow  downwards.  If  the  stroke  of  the  crank  be 
twenty-four  inches,  and  the  logs  one  foot  in  diameter,  three  feet 
of  the  cutting  edge  is  all  that  is  brought  in  contact  with  the  log ; 
and  a  cutting  edge  of  greater  length  would  be  useless.  If  the 
logs  be  two  feet  in  diameter,  and  twenty-four-inch  stroke  of  the 
crank,  the  cutting  edge  should  be  four  feet  long.  If  the  logs  be 
three  feet  in  diameter,  the  cutting  edge  of  the  saw  should  be  not 
less  than  four  and  a  half  feet  long.  When  the  crank  is  down, 
all  the  teeth  above  the  log  are  useless. 

673.  This  rule  holds  good  in  regard  to  saws  that  are  worked 
horizontally.     In  sawing  off  logs  two  feet  in  diameter  with  a 
crank  having  a  twenty-eight-inch  stroke,  the  cutting  edge  should 
be  four  feet  and  four  inches  long.     With  the  same  crank,  for  saw 
ing  off  logs  only  one  foot,  three  feet  four  inches  of  the  cutting 
edge  is  all  that  saws. 

674.  There  is,  many  times,  two  or  three  inches  in  length  of 
the  cutting  edge  of  hand-saws  near  the  handle,  which  never  saws 
any,  and  is  worse  than  useless ;   because,  the  teeth  must  all  be 
filed  off  in  order  to  keep  them  of  the  same  length  as  those  in  the 
middle  of  the  saw.     These   suggestions  will  enable  the  young 
filer  to  understand  how  large  a  number  of  teeth  near  the  ends  of 
his  saw  are  useless. 


436  THE   YOUNG  FAKMER's  MANUAL. 

RAKE    OF    SAWS. 

674-^.  Saws  are  hung  in  a  gate  working  up  and  down,  not 
only  for  sawing  logs,  but  for  sawing  out  boat-knees,  sleigh-run 
ners,  felloes  for  wheels,  wagon  thills,  scrolls,  and  other  circular 
work,  and  they  are  always  dressed  to  cut  only  when  they  descend. 
If  the  material  be  forced  on  to  the  saw  when  it  is  ascending, 
unless  it  should  be  very  heavy,  the  material  with  the  carriage 
will  be  jerked  up  and  down  in  a  most  frightful  manner.  To 
avoid  this  difficulty  the  saw  is  hung  with  a  rake,  (see  TECHNI 
CALITIES,  Par.  602,)  in  order  to  allow  the  material  to  be  brought 
up  to  the  saw  with  facility  when  it  is  ascending. 

675.  I  knew  a  mechanic  once  who  got  up  a  little  saw  for  saw 
ing  out  felloes  and  sleigh-runners,   and  not  understanding  this 
principle,  he  hung  his  saw  without  any  rake.     He  could  not 
make  it  operate  with  any  degree  of  satisfaction  until  he  hung  the 
saw  with  a  rake. 

676.  The   amount  of  rake  which   should  be  given  to  a  saw, 
should  be  equal,  usually,  to  the  greatest  amount  of  feed,  measuring 
from  the  tooth  which  is  found  at  the  upper  side  of  the  timber 
when  the  crank  is  down.     Many  sawyers  hang  their  saws  with 
out  any  rake. 

677.  To  ascertain  the  amount  of  rake,  set  the  crank  up,  and 
suspend  a  plumb,  P,  Fig.  186,  with  a  small  line  from  the  upper 
tooth,  and  lean  the  saw  forward  as  far  as  is  desirable,  as  shown 
in  the  figure,  and  fasten  it  there. 

678.  Rake,  in   saws  which  work   horizontally,   is   something 
which  is  seldom  recognized  or  even  thought  of.     But  when  a 
drag  or  a  butting  saw  is   attached  to  a  pitman,  and  it  is  filed  to 
saw  only  one   way,  if   the  cutting  edge  is  not   exactly  parallel 
with  a  line  cutting  the  centre  of  the  pitman,  it  may  or  may  not 
be  hung  with  a  rake.     If  the  farthest  end  falls   below  a  parallel 
line  cutting  the  centre  of  the  pitman,  it  will  have  a  rake  just  in 
proportion  to  the  distance  it  falls  below  a  parallel  line. 

RANGING    SAWS 

679.  Is  a  very  important  consideration  where  a  carriage  or 


THE   YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL.  437 

table  is  u^d.  The  carriage  or  table  should  always  move  parallel 
with  the  sides  of  the  saw.  An  ingenious  sawyer  will  be  able  to 
determine,  by  simply  glancing  his  eye  along  the  sides  cf  the  saw 
to  some  point  on  the  carriage,  whether  the  saw  and  carriage  are 
T^^^^Tor  not.  When  the  carriage  or  table  is  fitted  up,  the 
saw  must  be  hung  to  correspond  with  it ;  but,  when  the  saw  is 
already  in  the  desired  position,  the  table  or  carriage  must  be 
fitted  to  the  saw.  To  determine  whether  the  carriage  or  table  of 
a  circular  saw  for  cutting  wood  is  in  range  with  the  saw,  push 
the  carriage  back  as  far  as  it  will  go,  and  then  place  a  board 
having  a  straight  edge  on  the  carriage,  with  the  straight  edge  as 
close  to  one  side  of  the  saw  as  it  can  be  and  not  hit  it.  Move 
the  carriage  back  and  forth,  with  the  straight-edged  board  on 
both  sides  of  the  saw,  and  if  the  board  remains  just  so  far  from 
the  saw,  it  is  all  correct.  When  there  is  a  long  carriage,  run 
one  end  of  the  carriage  to  the  saw,  and  stick  a  nail  where  the 
edge  of  the  saw  hits.  Now,  move  the  carriage  so  that  the  other 
end  will  be  at  the  saw,  and  stick  another  nail.  Now,  hold  a  long 
straight  edge  against  the  side  of  the  saw-plate  ;  and  if  in  range, 
the  straight  edge  will  point  directly  to  these  nails.  If  the  feed 
ing-table  of  a  circular  wood-saw  does  not  range  with  the  saw,  it 
will  be  almost  impossible  to  saw  off  a  large  stick,  because  it 
will  bind  against  the  sides  of  the  saw,  and  almost  stop  the  motion 
of  it  if  the  power  is  limited. 

THE    VELOCITY    OF    THE    CUTTING    EDGE    OF    SAWS. 

680.  There  is  little  danger  of  having  the  teeth  of  any  saw 
move  too  fast.  The  faster  the  cutting  edge  moves,  the  more 
work  a  saw  is  capable  of  performing.  When  there  is  an  abun 
dance  of  available  power,  it  is  well  to  have  a  buzz-saw  run  with  a 
frightful  velocity ;  for  it  will  saw  much  smoother  and  faster  than 
if  it  moves  with  less  rapidity.  But  when  the  power  is  limited, 
and  it  is  desirable  to  lose  none  of  that  power,  it  is  very  impor 
tant  to  have  the  cutting  edge  move  at  the  most  effective  velocity  for 
the  power  which  drives  it.  Some  engineers  say  that  the  cutting 
edge  of  a  crosscut  circular  saw  should  move  about  seventy-five 


438 

feet  per  second,  while  others,  of  equally  good  authority,  say 
one  hundred  feet  and  more  per  second.  The  diaj^Mr  of  the 
saw  has  much  to  do  in  this  respect.  A  circular  sa^Mwenty-lwo 
inches  in  diameter,  has  a  cutting  edge  of  sixty-nine  Aches.  Now, 
if  it  revolves  twelve  hundred  times  in  one  mi;  nttmrr 

edge  will  move  one  hundred  and  fifteen  feet  per  second,  or  fix  thou 
sand  nine  hundred  feet  per  minute ;  and  if  the  wood  to  be  sawed 
be  as  large  as  that  saw  will  cut  in  two  without  turning  it  over, 
by  putting  another  saw  of  the  same  thickness,  having  teeth  the 
same  distance  apart,  which  is  twenty-six  inches  in  diameter  on 
the  same  mandrel,  the  same  amount  of  power  will  saw  more  than 
it  will  with  the  saw  twenty-two  inches  in  diameter.  It  will  require 
a  little  more  power  to  drive  the  twenty-six-inch  saw,  because  it 
is  a  little  heavier  ;  but  the  difference  is  so  small  that  it  cannot  be 
perceived.  And  the  diameter  of  the  saw  being  greater,  there 
will  be  a  greater  leverage  to  absorb  the  driviug  power.  But  the 
velocity  of  the  cutting  edge  of  the  twenty-six-inch  saw  being  (at 
1200  revolutions  per  minute)  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  feet  per 
second,  together  with  the  greater  diameter  of  the  saw,  by  reason 
of  which,  in  sawing  materials  of  the  size  already  mentioned, 
fewer  teeth  cut  at  the  same  time,  both  operate  in  favor  of  the 
large  saw.  Consequently,  a  twenty-six-inch  saw  will  do  more 
with  the  same  power  than  a  twenty-two-inch  saw,  in  sawing 
wood  that  is  nearly  all  as  large  as  a  twenty-two-inch  saw  will 
reach  through ;  the  teeth  and  thickness  of  the  plate  being  the 
same.  If,  now,  the  speed  pulley  on  the  saw  mandrel  be  made 
so  large  as  to  give  the  cutting  edge  of  the  twenty-six-inch  saw 
a  velocity  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  feet  per  second,  the  same 
amount  of  power  will  saw  more  than  when  the  velocity  of  the 
teeth  was  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  feet  per  second.  If  the 
tyro  should  have  much  sawing  to  do,  and  his  power  limited,  it 
would  be  well  worth  while  to  have  two  or  three  different  speed 
pulleys  to  put  on  the  saw  mandrel.  The  size  of  the  pulleys 
would  very  soon  decide  whether  too  much  of  the  power  was 
absorbed  in  producing  a  higher  velocity  than  will  be  most  effect 
ive  for  the  amount  of  power  employed.  The  driving  wheel  may 


THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL.  439 

be  so  lajge  and  speed-pulley  so  small,  (in  a  one  or  two-horse 
power,  J*Il;  to  absorb  all  the  available  power  in  getting  up  a  good 
velocity.  These  should  be  just  large  enough  to  allow  the  horses 
ove  with  their  ordinary  gait.  Intimately  connected  with 
subject,  as  elucidating  and  rendering  it  more  intelligible,  is 


tins  s 


THE    INFLUENCE    OF    THE    THICKNESS    OF    THE    MATERIALS 
TO    BE    SAWED. 

681.  Every  one  who  has  ever  sawed  a  board  in  two  with  a 
hand-saw  knows  that  it  will  require  three  times  more  time  and 
power  to  saw  off  a  board  one  foot  wide,  if  the  saw  be  made  to 
cut  entirely  across  the  width  of  the  board,  than  it  does  to  saw  it 
having  the  saw  cut  only  across  the  thickness  of  the  board  at  once. 
A  man  will  saw  in  two  with  a  hand-saw  twelve  boards  one  foot 
wide  and  an  inch  thick,  twice  as  quick  as  he  can  saw  in  two  a 
stick  of  timber  one  foot  square.     A  man  will  saw  with  a  slitting- 
saw,  eight  feet  in  length  of  a  board  one  inch  thick,  quicker  and 
easier  than  he  can  saw  one  foot  in  length  of  a  four-inch  plank 
with  the  same  saw,  unless  the  teeth  were  very  coarse. 

682.  In  sawing  fire-wood  with  a  two-horse-power,  if  the  wood 
be  nearly  all  from  six  to  eight  inches  thick,  by  splitting  it  in  two 
before  sawing  it  can  be  sawed  with  the  same  power  in  about  half 
the  time  that   it  would   require,   without  being  made   smaller. 
With  an  abundance  of  power  a  cord  of  large  wood  could  be  sawed 
sooner  than  a  cord  of  small  wood.     A  span  of  horses  on  a  two- 
horse  railway  power  will  do  a  good  business  at  slitting  boards 
and  plank  from  one  and  a  half  to  three  inches  thick.      As  the 
thickness  of  materials  to  be  sawed  increases,  in  order  to  do  a  fair 
business  an  increase  of  power  is  necessary.     With  a  circular  saw 
about  one  foot  in  diameter,  driven  by  two  horses,  a  man  can  saw 
seventy  feet  in  length  of  hard  lumber  one  inch  thick — if  he  is  able 
to  handle  the  lumber  as  fast  as  the  saw  will  cut  it — sooner  than  he 
can  saw  through  a  plank  twelve  feet  long  and  three  inches  thick. 

683.  A  circular  saw  ten  or  twelve  inches  in  diameter,  for  slit 
ting  boards  and  two-inch  plank,  will  do  much  neater  and  smoother 
work  than  a  saw  twice  as  large  in  diameter.     This  is  particularly 

19 


440  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

so  with  hard- wood  lumber,  for  slitting  which  a  saw  tl^  is  just 
large  enough  to  reach  through  a  board  or  plank  to  beJJed  will 
saw  smoother  than  a  larger  saw,  that  will  cut  more  square  a'cross 
the  lumber. 

684.  In  sawing  logs  into  boards,  either  with  an  up-and-down^ 
saw  or  with  a  circular  saw,  the  larger  the  logs  are  the  greater 
must  be  the  power  in  order  to  do  a  profitable  business.     A  power 
that  will  do  a  good  business  at  sawing  logs  from  one  to  two  feet 
in  diameter  into  lumber,  if  the  power  be  all  absorbed  in  sawing 
such  logs,  will  be  insufficient  to  drive  a  saw  at  a  good  velocity 
through  logs  from  three  to  four  feet  in  diameter.     It  is  all  folly 
to  attempt  to  do  a  fair  business  in  sawing  anything  thick  and 
heavy,  with  a  weak  or  limited  power.      If,  in  erecting  a  steam 
saw-mill,  the  logs  are  of  an  average  large  size,  it  would  be  infi 
nitely  more  profitable  to  the  proprietor  to  have  an  engine  say  of 
not  less  than  thirty-horse-power,  that  would  drive  a  saw  with  a 
good  speed  through  any  log,  however  large  and  hard  it  might  be, 
than  it  would  to  use  an  engine  of  ten  or  fifteen-horse-power. 

685.  In  slitting  lumber  with  my  two-horse-power,  with  a  cir 
cular  saw  one  foot  in  diameter,  I  found  by  experiment  that  with 
a  pulley  six  inches  in  diameter  on  the  mandrel  I  could  saw  only 
about  half  as  fast  with  the  horses  travelling  at  a  given  gait  as 
I  could  when  the  pulley  was  about  eleven  inches  in  diameter. 
With  the  small  pulley  too  much  of  the  power  was  absorbed  in 
producing  a  given  velocity.     The  difference  was  not  so  percepti 
ble  when  sawing  thin  stuff  as  it  was  when  sawing  plank  two  or 
three  inches  thick. 


A    WORD    ABOUT    FILES. 

686.  My  rule  in  selecting  files  is,  to  choose  those  that  have  a 
clear,  bright,  and  lively  appearance,  and  that  are  well  cut,  having 
sharp  corners.  If  the  corners  are  full — which  is  of  the  greatest 
importance — the  sides  will  be  correspondingly  sharp.  If  the  cor 
ners  are  not  full,  it  is  a  pretty  certain  evidence  that  the  temper  is 
not  right, — generally  too  hard, — and  they  will  not  do  good  ser- 


(441) 


442  THE   YOUNG    FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

vice.     Always  examine  the  corners  of  files,  and  select  those  that 
have  the  sharpest  corners. 

THE    SIZE    OF    THE    FILES 

687.  Should  be  in.  proportion  to  the  teeth.      Files  about  the 
size  of  the  teeth  to  be  filed  are  generally  the  most  economical, 
because  there  are  more  corners  in  proportion  to  the  sides.     I  al 
ways  use  very  small  triangular  files  for  filing  small  teeth.     The 
double-cut  single  files,  although  they  cost  a  trifle  more,  are  prefer 
able  to  the  single-cut  ones,  because  they  make  a  cleaner  and 
neater  cut  when  filing. 

688.  Save  all  the  old  files  and  have  them  cut  over,  in  nearly 
any  of  our  cities,  at  less  than  half  their  original  cost. 

. 

THE    SLITTING-TABLE. 

689.  Fig.  187  is  a  representation  of  a  bench  and  slitting-table 
for  slitting  boards,   plank,  and  anything  else  of  that  character. 
When  a  man  has  a  wood-saw,  he  may  bolt  two  extension  benches 
to  the  frame,  as  shown  in  the  Fig.,  and  put  a  small  slitting-saw 
on  the  mandrel,  and  he  will  find  it  a  most  convenient  arrange 
ment  for  slitting  all  kinds  of  lumber.     I  have  such  a  table,  the 
frame  of  which  is  twenty -four  feet  long,  and  the  movable  carriage 
or  table  is  sixteen  feet  in  length.     This  table  is  moved  back  and 
forth  close  to  the  saw,  on  rollers  in  the  frame,  and  boards  or  plank, 
when  being  sawed,  are  placed  on  the  table  and  pushed  towards 
the  saw.     With  two  horses  I  can  saw  lath,  door-casings,  stiles 
for  doors,  and  such  like,  faster,  and  very  much  truer,  than  ten 
active  men  would  be  able  to  saw  with  hand-saws.     (See  Par. 
38.)     The  rollers — one  of  which  is  shown  at  the  left  hand  in  the 
Fig. — which  support  the  table,   are  about  five   inches  in  diam 
eter,  sixteen  inches  long,  with  a  gain  in  each  one  for  the  guide 
to  run  in,  which  is  fastened   to  the  under  side  of  the  table.     A 
gauge  is  shown  behind  the  sawyer,  which  is  adjusted  by  two  set- 
screws,  a  a,  which  screws  pass  through  a  long  mortise  in  the  stick 
under  the  gauge.      The  nut   is  beneath  the  long  mortise.     At 


443 

the  left  hand  is  shown   a   portion   of  the   table,  with   an    iron 
dog,  c?,  screwed  to  the  top  of  the  table  for  holding  the  plank. 

SQUARES   AND    MEASURING   RULES. 

690.  A  carpenters'  steel  square  is  an  indispensable  tool  in  lay 
ing  out  any  heavy  work.     Steel  squares  are  usually  graduated 
correctly,  and  are  as  "  square  "  as  they  can  conveniently  be  made. 
The  common  iron  squares  are  almost  always  a  nuisance  ;   because 
they  are   not  square,   are  not  graduated  correctly,  are  always 
bending  and  twisting,  and  the  edges  are  not  straight.     No  one 
who  is  possessed  of  much  mechanical  talent,  will  be  satisfied  to 
use  an  iron  square.     Steel  squares  are  usually  graduated  and  fig 
ured  on  both  sides,  with  a  rule  for  measuring  lumber  on  one 
side,  which  is  many  times  very  convenient. 

691.  In  addition  to  the  carpenters'   square,  a  try-square  and 
bevel  are  very  useful,  and  it  is  not  very  practicable  to  perform 
many  little  jobs  without  them.     These  can  always  be  obtained  at 
hardware  stores,  of  almost  any  desirable  size. 

692.  A  pocket   rule  is  another  very  convenient   instrument, 
both  for  laying  out  any  piece  of  small  work  in  the  shop,  and  for 
taking  the  dimensions  of   anything  that  comes  in  our  way  that 
we  wish  to  measure.     Pocket-rules  and  carpenters'  steel  squares 
are  usually  graduated  as  small  as  sixteenths  of  inches,  and  the 
tyro  should  be  careful  to  see  that  in  purchasing  a  square  he  does 
not  get  turned  off  with  an  iron  square.     A  good  steel  square 
will  ring  when  struck  while  it  hangs  on  one's  finger,  but  an  iron 
one  will  give  a  very  dull  sound. 

693.  Mechanics  who  make  many  patterns  for  moulding  for  cast- 
iron,  when  they  wish  to  have  their  casting  of  a  given  size,  use 
a  graduated  rule  twelve  inches  and  one-eighth  in  length,  or  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  to  a  foot  longer  than  the  sealed  or  statute  meas 
ure.      The  object  of  using  such  a  rule  is,  to  make  the  necessary 
allowance  for  the  contraction  or  shrinkage  of  the  iron  in  cooling. 
When  such  a  rule  is  not  at  hand,  it  is  necessary  to  make  calcula 
tions  for  the  contraction  of  the  iron,  by  making  the  pattern  twelve 
inches  and  one-eighth  long,  if  the  iron  is  to  be  just  twelve  inches 


444  THE   YOUNG   FARMER'S   MANUAL. 

in  length  when  cold.     But  when  such  a  rule  is  used  there  is  no 
allowance  to  be  made  and  no  liability  to  make  mistakes. 

694.  Squares  are   not  always  "  square  "  or  true.     They  may 
be  readily  tested  when  purchasing  them,  by  holding  them  against 
the  straight  edge  of  a  board,  and  making  a  mark  across  it,  and 
then  reverse  it ;    and  if  the  arm  of  the  square  is  exactly  paral 
lel  with  the  mark,  the  square  is  true.     Let  squares  and  rules  be 
kept  bright  by  rubbing  them  with  a  piece  of  white  chalk. 

695.  Measuring  poles  are   very  convenient  many  times.      I 
have  three  of  different  lengths.     One  is  six  feet  in  length,  three- 
eighths  of  an  inch  thick  at  the  ends  and  an  inch  wide  at  the  ends, 
and  half  an  inch  thick  at  the  middle  and  two  inches  wide,  gradu 
ated  to  three  inch  spaces  at  the  ends.     Another  is  ten  feet  long, 
one  inch  wide  and  half  an  inch  thick  at  the  ends,  and  in  the  mid 
dle  two  inches  wide,  graduated  in  feet.     Another,  of  the  same 
size  as  the  ten  feet  pole,  is  sixteen  and  a  half  feet  long,  correctly 
graduated  to  half  feet.     These  are   all  made  of  baswood,  very 
straight  and  true,  and  varnished  with  three  coats  of  shellac,  (see 
next  vol.,)  and  a  piece  of  sheet  copper,  just  the  size  of  the  ends, 
is  neatly  fitted  and  screwed  on  the  ends,  to  keep  them  true  and 
square.     All  these  poles  have  their  appropriate  place  in  the  shop, 
where  they  will  lie  in  a  straight  position ;   and  when  they  are 
not  in  use  they  are  returned  promptly  to  their  places.     It  will 
injure  them  very  much  to  get  very  wet,  by  springing  and  warp 
ing  them. 

696.  Instead  of  poles,  many  men  have  a  graduated  tape,  two 
or  four  rods  in  length,  which  is  wound  up  in  a  circular  case  of 
stiff  leather,  and  can  be  carried  in  the  pocket.     In   measuring, 
the  tape  is  drawn  out  of  one  side  of  the  case,  a  part  or  the  entire 
length.     The  tape  is  usually  graduated  on  one  side  into  feet  and 
inches,  and  on  the  opposite  side   is  a  graduation  into  Units   for 
measuring  land.     But  for  ordinary  purposes,  and   especially  for 
correct  measuring,  and  for  cheapness,  poles  are  far  the  best,  and 
the  most  convenient.     One   man  can   measure   alone  with  a  rod 
pole  very  expeditiously,  while  with  a  tape  it  would  be  very  diffi 
cult  for  him  to  measure  alone. 


THE   YOUNG   FAKMER's   MANUAL.  445 

697.  There  have  been  of  late  several  patent  improvements  in 
squares  and  measuring  rules.     But  I  shall  notice  none  of  them 
except  the  one  in  which  the  blade  of  a  common  hand-saw  is 
graduated  on  both  sides,  atnts  back  edge.     There  can  be  no  par 
ticular  objection   to  this  manner  of  having  a  measuring   rule. 
But   they  who   use    this    kind  only,  will    find    it,  many  times, 
very  inconvenient ;   and,  besides,  the  teeth  of  the  saw  would  be 
very  liable  to  get  a  dulling  oftener  than  we  like  to  file  them,  and 
it  makes  an  awkward,  clumsy  rule  at  best.     A  saw  and  a  good 
carpenters'  square  cannot  very  well  be  judiciously  and  conven 
iently  combined. 

698.  For  measuring  the  circumference  of  anything,  or  the  out 
side  or  inside  of  the  rim  of  a  wheel,  or  drum,  it  is  not  very  prac 
ticable  to  do  it  with  a  straight  rule.     For  such  purposes  a  meas 
uring  wheel  is  made   use  of,  which  is  represented  by  Fig.  188. 

FIG.   188. 


A   MEASURING  WHBBL. 

The  wheel  should  be  about  six  or  eight  inches  in  diameter,  and 
instead  of  being  flat  on  the  surface  of  the  circumference,  the 
wheel  at  the  circumference  should  be  formed  to  a  sharp  edge 
entirely  around  it.  If  it  is  three  or  four  eighths  wide  at  the  cir 
cumference,  it  is  much  more  liable  to  vary  from  the  correct  meas 
urement  of  anything  which  is  measured  with  it.  In  measuring 
with  the  wheel,  the  operator  must  be  careful  to  have  it  roll  in  a 
straight  direction,  and  not  from  right  to  left,  as  that  would  indi 
cate  a  greater  distance  than  it  really  is. 


446  THE  YOUNG  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

799.  Mr.  Louis  Young  has  invented  an  improvement  in  the 
measuring  wheel,  in  which  there  is  a  neatly  graduated  circular 
disk  in  the  end  of  the  handle,  which  is  moved  by  a  pawl,  work 
ing  in  a  ratchet  wheel  at  the  disk,  which  pawl  is  worked  by  a 
cam  on  the  shaft  of  the  measuring-wheel.  "When  the  wheel  is 
rolled  forward,  the  distance  traversed  over  is  accurately  indicated 
in  feet,  inches,  and  fractions  of  inches  on  the  disk.  But  it  is  too 
expensive  for  farmers,  otherwise  I  would  have  given  an  illustra 
tion  of  it  in  this  place. 

700.  For  measuring  the  circumference  of  small  bodies,  in  the 
absence  of  a  measuring-wheel,  use  a  piece  of  small  wire,  and 
then  take  the  length  of  it  with  the  rule  afterwards.     There  is  a 
no  more  correct  way  to  measure  a  round  body  than  this. 

701.  This  chapter  on   edge  tools  has  been  revised  and  very 
much  abbreviated,  and  a  goodly  number  of  tools  which  every 
farmer  ought  to  have,  have  been  excluded  in  order  to  bring  the 
chapter  within  a  proper  limit  for  such  a  work  as  this.     But  if  the 
young  farmer  is  possessed  of  sufficient  skill  to  put  these  in  order, 
he  will  be  able  to  put  all  others  in  order.     When  tools  of  a  desired 
form  or  kind  cannot  be  obtained  at  country  hardware  stores,  the 
young  farmer  will  be  able  to  procure  anything  which  he  may  de- 
eire  at  R.  L.  Allen's  agricultural  warehouse,  189  Water  st.,  New 
York  city. 


INDEX. 


Abutments,  how  to  make, 

Anvil,  substitute  for,         .  * 

Auger,  extension  lip,  with  cut, 

and  bits,  with  cuts, 

names  of  different  parts  of,     . 

how  to  sharpen,     . 

defective  augers,         .  .'•' 

boring  holes  with, 

post-hole,  or  dirt  auger,  with  cut, 
Awls,  with  cuts  of,  .  * 

brad-awl,  .'  . 

harness-awl,  .  ; 

scratch -awl,    .  .  . 

Axe,  with  cut  of,  ;  .  . 

names  of  various  parts  of,       .  ; 

proper  shape  of,     . 

most  proper  weight  of,  .  . 

how  to  hang  correctly, 

rule  for  hanging  correctly, 

how  to  put  in  order, 

most  proper  form  of  blade,  with  cut, 

clamp  for  grinding  of,  with  cut, 

axe-helve,  how  to  make, 

why  helves  should  be  crooked,     . 

axe-helve  pattern, 

how  to  handle  expertly, 

B. 

Barley,  how  thick  to  sow, 

Barn,  how  to  frame  properly,  with  cuts, 

and  houses,  how  to  make  higher, 

large  and  small, 

floor  for,  how  to  make  joints,  with  cut  of, 

proper  disposition  of  room, 
19* 


PARAGRAPH. 

PAGE. 

.  194 

153 

626 

368$ 

.  358 

269 

688 

401 

.  588 

401 

591 

401 

.  592 

403 

593 

403 

•  311 

231 

599 

405 

.  600 

405 

599 

405 

.  601 

405 

362 

273 

.  363 

273 

364 

273 

.  365 

274 

375 

279 

.  376 

279 

368 

375 

.  370 

276 

370 

276 

.  371 

276 

371 

277 

.  373 

278 

378 

280 

.  511 

358 

48 

49 

.   56 

55 

19 

37 

.   21 

39 

25 

40 

(447) 


448  INDEX. 

PARAGRAPH.  PAGE. 

Barn-yard,  how  to  make,        .  .  .  .  .       26  40 

Baswood,  value  of,  .....  35  43 

shingles  made  of,         .  .  .  .  .       36  43 

Balloon  frames,     ......  50  51 

cornice  for,  with  cut  of,  .  •  .  .52  54 

Bars,  sliding,  with  cut  of,    .  .  .  .  .         112  93 

Back-furrow,  definition  of,     .  .  .  .  .465  334 

Bark,  influence  of  on  timber,       .  .  .  •  70  67 

Binders  for  stone  wall,  .  .  •  .  .     191  151 

Beetles,  with  cut  of,  how  to  make,  .  .  .          339  257 

how  to  handle,  expertly,  .  .  .342  260 

Bench,  Farmer's  work-bench,  with  cut  of,  .  ,  522  367 

Bench-planes, .     567  387 

Bits,  cuts  of,  .  588  401 

extension-lip,  with  cut  of,  .  .  .     358  269 

Blocks  for  fence,  how  made,          ....  75  69 

Board  fence,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     118  96 

Boards,  how  to  joint,        .....  679  396 

marking-board,  with  cut  of,  ...     152  124 

for  fence,  most  economical  size,      .  .  .  121  101 

Boot-iron  for  spading,  with  cut  of,  .  .  .    326  246 

Boring-machine  ;  with  cut  of,  .  .  .          353  267 

how  to  obtain  one,       .  .  .  .  .356  269 

Buckthorn,  with  cut  of,  how  to  propagate,  .  .  293  218 

Buildings,  how  to  erect,         .  .  .  .  9  31 

whereto  locate,   t.  .  .  .  1  28 

when  to  commence  erecting,  .  .  .10  32 

pitch  of  roofs  of,  .  .  .  .  15  35 

out-buildings,  .  .  .  ,  .19  37 

how  to  frame  to  prevent  spreading,  .  .  17  36 

how  to  move  buildings,  .  .  .  .       44  48 

Braces,  how  to  make,         .  .  .  .  .  19  38 

c. 

Cant-hook,  with  cut  of,  .  ...     206  160 

Caps  for  fence,  how  made,  .  .  88  79 

Cedars,  red, 284  211 

Cellar,  how  to  make  it,  .  .  .  .  11  32 

Chalk  line  and  spool,  with  cut,  ....     330  251 

Chisels,  how  made,  .....  531  371 

cold-chisel,  how  to  grind,  with  cut,     .  .  .     563  387 

various  kinds  of.  with  cuts  582  398 


INDEX. 


449 


Chisels,  comer  chisel,  with  cut  of, 
duckbill  do. ,  with  cut  of,  - 
framers  and  firmers,    . 
how  to  grind  correctly,  with  cuts, 
turning  do.  and  gouges, 

Clamps  for  holding  tools, 

Charcoal  vs.  Mineral,  . 

Chopping,  how  to  do  it,  -.    < 

Coulter  cleaner,  with  cut  of, 
how  to  adjust, 

Corn-house,  how  to  make  it  rat-proof, 

Crowbar,  with  cut  of, 


D. 

Ditches  beneath  stone  walls, 

Draining,  .  . 

manner  of  cutting  do., 
grading  bottom  of, 

depth  and  width  of,  .*  . 

how  to  determine  depth  of, 
cost  of,  per  rod,  .  .         .  „         . 

side-hill  drains,  how  made,  «... 

outlets  for,  how  to  form,  .        -    .  . 

how  to  prevent  gullying,        .  ,    * 

plow  for,  with  cut,  Alden's, 
how  to  lay  tile  in  them, 
manner  of  laying  stone  in,  with  cuts, 
improper  stoning,  with  cuts  of, 
how  to  stone  through  quicksands, 
boards  beneath  tile,  bad  policy, 
filling  with  straw  and  sods,  not  allowable, 
important  considerations  in  filling, 
how  to  form  watering  pools  in, 
open  drains,  how  to  make, 
how  to  find  obstructions  in, 
filling  with  wood,  with  cuts, 
recapitulation,  concluding  remarks, 

Ditching  with  machines,         .  .  , 

Drilling-in  grain,  .... 

Dwelling-house,  »  . 


PARAGRAPH. 

PAGE. 

.  583 

398 

585 

399 

.  582 

398 

586 

400 

.  587 

401 

559 

385 

.  535 

573 

377 

280 

.  464 

333 

462 

331 

49 

51 

316 

234 

.  195 

154 

395 

287 

.  401 

£90 

403 

292 

.  407 

295 

408 

296 

.  439 

316 

422 

305 

.  427 

308 

.   431 

311 

402 

291 

.  412 

398 

414 

302 

.  416 

303 

422 

306 

.  413 

301 

423 

306 

.  425 

307 

428 

309 

.  430 

siq 

426 

308 

.  433 

311 

440 

317 

.  442 

320 

5,13 

359 

11 

33 

450  INDEX. 

E. 

PABAGRAPH.  PAGE. 

Edge  Tools,           ...                                                527  368J 

tempering  of,                                                                  .     532  370 

coarse  and  fine  edges  of,                 .                                    543  378 

grinding  of,                  .....     548  380 

F. 

Fencing,                ......            59  57 

Fence,  zig-zag  rail,     .            .                         .            .                   76  70 

rule,  with  cut  of,                .            .             •            .            77  71 

how  to  lay  foundation  of  rail,         .            »        •         .79  72 

how  to  make  higher  without  rails,            v           .            80  73 

lock  and  rider,               .             .             .            ^  *-      ...       84  74 

stake  and  cap,  with  cut,                .            .            .            86  76 

bunk  and  cap,  with  cut,          .            .  y         .            .       91  80 

straight  rail  fence,  with  cut,            .            .            ."         92  81 

horse,  or  skeleton,  with  cut,                .            .            .94  82 

log,  or  pole,  with  cut,       .              .            .            .            97  84 

rod  fence,         .            .            .            .            .            .  -101  86 

side-hill,  or  gun  fence,                    .            .            .           103  86 

Jenkins'  improved,                  .            .            .            .222  170 

park  fence,  with  cut,           .....          105  88 

stake  and  rider,           .            .             .            .            .     106  89 

double  stake  and  rider,                   .            .            .           107  90 

post  and  bar,                 .....     109  91 

guard  fence,           .            .             .             .            .           108  91 

post  and  rail,                .....     110  92 

board  fence,           .             .            .            .            .           118  96 

E.  Nash' s  improved,  with  cut,              .            .            .117  95 

highway  fence,  with  cut,                .                        .122  102 

division  fence,  with  cut,          .            .            .            .124  105 

self-sustaining  board,          ..            .            .           125  106 

barn-yard  fence,            .            .            .            .            .132  112 

rib  fence,                             .                        .            .133  113 

wire  fence,                   .                         .            .             .     135  114 

Lowell  wire  fencing,  with  cut,       .            .            .           163  128 

picket  fence,                .....     167  130 

do.     lawn        do.          ....           1*71  133 

self-sustaining  picket,               ....     173  135 

poultry-yard  picket,  with  cut,       .            .                      175  137 


INDEX.  451 

PABAOBAPH.  PAGE. 

Fence,  lattice, 183  142 

ornamental  lawn,               .            .            .            .180  141 

stone  fence,                 .            .           .            .  .186  145 

A.  B.  Conger's,                  .            ...          203  157 

laws  about  fence,                    .   ;,                    .  .     389  285 

height  of  lawful  fence,                  .            .            .          893  286 

fence  line,                    .            •            .            .  .    329  259 

Uncle  Will's  buncomb,              '    ..           .            .          394  286 

Farm,  plotting  of,                    • ,  i        .             .             .  .5  29 

Froe,  a  cooper's,  with  cut,            ...            .            .            87  78 

Furrow-slice,  definition  of,                 .            .            .  .456  333 

Files,  how  to  select,          .,           ..            .            .            .           687  442 

Filer,  Saw,  with  cut,              .            .            .            .  .     620  414 

Fruit-trees,  how  to  prune,             %  •         ,           .            .          305  226 

G-. 

Gates,  with  five  cuts  of,         .           .   •        .            .  .236  176 

denominations  of  parts  of,             .            .            .           237  177 

instructions  to  aid  in  making,              .            .  .     238  178 

gate-stile,  with  cut  of,        .            .  U        .            .          240  179 

how  to  hang  correctly,             .    \                    .  .     241  181 

philosophy  of  hanging,                  .    ^        .             .           243  183 

wire  gates,  with  cut  of,             .            .  •         .  .     255  191 

iron  lawn  gate,  with  cut  of,           ,;            .            .          256  192 

railway,  why  objectionable,                .            .  .     259  194 

Gate- way,  self-sustaining,              .            .  .         »            .          258  194 

Gauge-wheel,               ......     459  330 

how  to  use  two,                  .             .  •       '    ...           .          463  331 

Gin  for  loading  stone,  &c.,  with  cut,               .            .  .     212  162 

Gluts,  how  to  make,  with  cuts,     .            .            .            .           350  265 

Grab-hook,      .            .            .            .            .            .  .     524  368 

Grain,  how  to  sow             .....           492  351 

Grapple-hook,  with  cut  of,      .            .            .            .  .     208  161 

Grass-hook,  with  cut  of,               ....           860  271 

Grass-seed,  how  to  sow,         .....     506  356 

Grindstone,  complete,  with  cut  of,           ...           541  378 

how  to  select  a  good  one,                    .            .  .     538  375 

improved  shaft  for,  with  cut,          .            .            .           640  376 

should  be  protected,                ....     542  378 

Gouges,     .                                      ....          587  400 

Grubbing-hoe,  with  cut  of,     .           .            •            .  .328  249 


452  INDEX. 

H. 

PARAGRAPH.  PACK. 

Hammer,  improved  claw,  with  cut,  .  .  .  331  252 

how  to  hang,  and  form  of  handle,  .  .  .331  253 

riveting  do.,  how  to  use  it,  .  .  337  256 

sledges,  how  to  use  expertly,  .  .  .  332  254 

Harrows,  and  harrowing,  .  ^- .,  .  .  482  345 

triangular  hinge,  with  cut,  .  .  •  .  .  483  346 

coulter,  with  cut,  .  .  .  .  .487  347 

Herald  and  Tompkins' iron,  with  cut  .  .  •  .  489  348 

learning  beginners  to  harrow,  .,*..  .  .  490  350 

Hedges,  style  of,  how  to  propagate,  .  '  .  .  .  260  196 

preparation  of  soil  for,  .  .-.  .-  .  260  196 

how  to  plant  the  quicks,  .  .  .  268  202 

how  to  prune,  .  #'  .  v  ,  ,ia»  .  271  204 

laying  and  plashing,  .  ..  f  .  274  205 

protecting  from  cattle,  I  •  .  .  277  207 

how  to  repair  old  ones,  .  .  .  .  .278  207 

for  wet  grounds,  .  .  ;)  .  .  279  208 

kind  of  plants  for,  .  .  ;  .  .  .281  209 

causes  of  failure  in  raising,  ,  .  .  298  220 

distance  apart  for  the  quicks,  .  .  .  300  221 

hedge  complete,  with  cut,  ,  .  307  227 

Headland,  how  to  plow,        .             .            •   *  .     474  339 

Hurdles,  with  cut,             .            v          .            .  174  136 

Hinges,  with  cuts  of,  .....  241  182 

forked,  with  cut,  .  247  186 

how  to  draw  from  a  post,  .  *  r  .  .241  182 

Hook,  cant,  with  cut,  .  .  .-.  .  206  160 

grapple,  with  cut,  .....  208  161 

I. 

Instruments  for  bending  wires  into  loops,           •  ••  .          177  139 

J. 

Jack,  for  fence,  with  cut,        .            .             .            .  .327  247 

Jaws  of  work-bench,  how  to  make,          .            .  .           521  366 

Jackplane,  and  bit,  with  cut  of,          ....     671  390 

Jointer  iron,  with  cut,      .             .            .            .  .          572  391 

Jointing  boards  and  plank,     .....     579  396 

Jointing  saws,  how  done,              ....          615  412 

Jenkins'  iron  post,  with  cut,                .            .  .222  169 


INDEX.  453 

K. 

PABAGBAPH.  PAGE. 

Knives,  case  knives,  how  to  grind,            .            .            .  549  381 

most  proper  angle  for  grinding,            .            .  .    563  386 

Kyanizing  timber,            .....  232  175 

L. 

Laws,  fence,               .            .            .            .            .  .     389  285 

Land,  definition  of,            .....  465  334 

Lath,  how  to  make,  .        * :  .            .            .            .  .38          44 

Locust,  yellow  and  honey,       *    ,            .            .            .  288  213 

how  to  propagate,       .....     290  214 

M. 

Machine  for  mixing  mortar,  with  cut,       .            .            .  40          45 

Mandrel,  for  boring  machine,  with  cut,          .            .  .     358  270 

Mallet,  with  cut,                .....  338  257 

Mattock,  with  cut,      .            .            .                         .  .     328  249 

Maul,  stone,         .             .                         .            .  '          .  336  256 

Measuring  rules,         .        "    .        '    .        '     ,            .  .     692  443 

Measuring  wheel,             .         '    .        '    .            .             .  698  445 

Mortar,  how  to  make  good,      .            .            .            .  .      39          45 

N. 

Nails,  how  to  drive,  how  to  draw,           \  .        .            .  331  253 

o. 

Osage  Orange,  with  cut,  .             .            .            .            .  291  215 

how  to  propagate,        .....     292  216 

Oil-stone,  importance  of,               ...  565  387 


Pickets,  forms  of  tops,  with  11  cuts,             .            .            .  184  143 

Perch  of  fence,  how  much  it  is,     .            .            .  187  147 

Platform  for  wagon,  with  cut,            ....  210  161 

Plumb  rule,  with  cut.  '                  .             .            .            .  319  237 

Pick,  with  cut,             ......  328  249 

Planes,  how  to  select  good  ones,               .            .            .  568  338 

Plane  irons,  with  cuts,            .                         .             .             .  570  388 

how  to  put  in  order,           .            .            .            .571  388 

how  to  adjust  the  irons  of,                    .            .             .  573  390 


454  INDEX. 

PARAGRAPH.  PAGE. 

Plane,  defective  ones,        .....          575  391 

how  to  plane  true,       .....     576  391 

Plows  and  plowing,  .....          444  321 

defective  plows,  .....     445  321 

which  is  the  best,  ....          446  322 

how  to  select  a  good  one,  »  449  323 

characteristics  of  a  good  one,        .  •    ,        .  450  324 

how  to  hitch  a  team  to,  .  .  .  .     456  328 

how  to  adjust  the  draught  of,         .  .  .          455  327 

steel  plows,  advantages  of,  «.  .     454  827 

how  to  hold,  .  .'  .  .          466  334 

riding  on  handles,        .  .  .  .  .     468  336 

plowing  lands  and  ridges,          #  .  ,  .          469  337 

how  to  plow  straight,  .  ^  .  .471  338 

how  to  finish  a  land  neatly,  .  .  .          473  338 

Plowing  headlands,  .  ,  .  .  .     474  339 

commencing  in  the  middle  of  field,  with  cuts,        .        477  340 

Plowman,  good  and  poor,       .....     466  335 

Technicalities  in  plowing,  ....  465  333 

Plowpoints,  how  chilled,         .  ,  .  .  .     451  325 

coulter  cleaner,  with  cut,  . '          .  .          464  332 

gauge  wheels  for,         .  .".,          .'  .  .     459  330 

Pools,  in  drains,     .  .  ....  .  .          428  309 

Posts,  how  to  split,  with  cut,  '.  .  .  .66  64 

for  bars,  with  cut,          .    .«  .  .  .  115  94 

fence,  how  to  set  in  a  line,     ....     152  122 

to  prevent  their  upheaval,  with  cut,          .  .  225  171 

straining-posts,  with  cut,         ..  .  .151  121 

how  to  set,  .....          227  172 

large  and  small,          •  149  121 

posts  for  fence,  length  of,  &c.,      -.  «  .  216  165 

kind  of  timber  for,       .  .  .  .  .218  166 

clamp  for  holding,  with  cut,  .  .  .  220  167 

how  to  sharpen  correctly,  with  cuts,    .  .  .     220  168 

Jenkins'  cast-iron,  with  cut,  .  .  .  221  1G9 

turned  posts,  .  .  .  .  .182  143 

iron  post,  for  wire  fence.    .  .  .  .  159  126 

driving  posts,  .  „'  .  .  .228  173 

charring,  injurious,  ....  230  174 

steeping,  &c.  to  render  durable,  .  .  .232  175 

top  end  up  vs.  top  end  down,         .  .  .          235  176 

wrench  for  holding,  when  driving,       .  .  .    229  173 


INDEX. 


455 


Q. 

Quarrying  stone,  how  done,         .  .  . 

wedges  for,      .... 

B. 

Razors,  how  to  sharpen,   .... 
Rails,  splitting  of,  rule  of,  &c.,  with  cut, 

length  and  size  of,  ... 

peeling,  importance  of, 

distributing  for  fence, 

fence,  how  to  build,     . 

different  kinds  in  one  fence, 
Rack,  for  tools,  with  cut  of,     . 
Rake  of  saws,        ..... 
Rammer,  with  cut,      .... 
Ranging  saws,        ..... 
Rollers,  how  to  make  a  cheap,  with  cut, 

Giles'  and  Tompkins',  with  cut,     . 
Rule,  plumb,  with  cut  of, 

pocket,  and  other  kinds,    . 

s. 

Saws,  technicalities  in  relation  to, 
names  of  different  kinds  of, 
how  to  select  good  ones, 
external  signs  of  good  ones, 
number  of  teeth  in, 
how  to  put  in  order, 
clamp  for  holding,  with  cuts,   . 
how  to  joint,          .... 
best  angle  for  filing  the  face  of  teeth, 
cuts  of  saws  well,  and  badly  filed, 
setting  of,  how  done, 
should  not  be  filed  with  old  files, 
patent  saw-filer,  with  cut, 
slitting  saws,  how  to  file, 
effect  of  setting  too  much, 
sets,  simplest  form  of, 
three  sections  of,  showing  the  set  of  teeth, 
bent  and  r-.wedged  set,  with  cuts,  . 
how  to  un  el  saw  teeth, 


PARAGRAPH. 

PAGE. 

204 

158 

.  205 

159 

550 

382 

.   63 

60 

67 

65 

.   70 

66 

71 

67 

.   77' 

71 

73 

69 

.  310 

230 

674J 

436 

.  315" 

233 

679 

437 

.  516 

361 

517 

363 

.  319 

237 

690 

443 

.  602 

406 

603 

407 

.  604 

407 

605 

408 

.  606 

408 

611 

410 

.  612 

411 

615 

412 

618 

413 

622 

416 

.  626 

417 

611 

410 

620 

414 

619 

414 

.  628 

417 

34 

419 

.  626 

417 

631 

418 

.  640 

421 

456  INDEX. 

PAEAGEAPH.  PAGE. 

Saws,  how  to  set  very  hard  saws,             .            .            .          638  420 

two-hand  crosscut,  with  cut,               .            •  .     641  421 

improved        '         .             .             .             .  •           .           643  422 

how  to  put  in  order,                .             .             .  .     644  422 

how  to  handle  with  skill,           r.            .            .          648  423 

compass,  billet-web,  how  to  file,         .             .  .     649  424 

circular,  with  cut  and  forms  of  teeth,        ,'           .          651  425 

kow  to  hang  circulars,              ....     656  429 

jointing  circulars,                 .            ,'            . '"'        .          652  427 

filing  circulars,               .             .'            .vi°        .  .     653  427 

Andrews  &  Burbage's  patent  ground  circulars,       .          655  428 

balancing,  how  done,  (see  next  vol.)              .  .     658  430 

gumming  saws,  how  to  do  it,          .             .            .           659  430 

how  to  mark  out  the  teeth,      .            .'           .  .663  432 

mill  saws,                .            .         '   '.            i            .          665  432 

forms  of  teeth  in  up  and  down  saws,  .            .  .     666  433 

length  of  cutting  edge,       ....           672£  435 

rake  of  saws,               .....     674£  436 

ranging,  how  done,             ....           679  436 

velocity  of  cutting  edge  of,      ....     680  437 

thickness  of  materials  to  be  sawed,            .            .          681  439 

table  for  sawing,  with  cut,       .            .            .  .     689  441 

Scythes,  grass  and  cradle,  with  cut,         .           ...            .          551  382 

microscopic  view  of  edge,  with  cut,     .            .  .     552  383 

how  to  grind  and  whet,      ....          553  383 

how  to  spoil  good  ones,          ,.   .         .            .  .     557  384 

Seed,  signs  of  good  and  poor,       .             .            .            .           295  219 

Sickle,  Dutch,  with  cut,          .            v           .            .  .     360  271 

Shears,  pruning,  with  cut  of,                     .             .            .          647  380 

wife's  and  sheep-,  with  cut  of  section,            .  .     566  388 

Sheers,  or  gin,  with  cut  of,            .            .            .            .          212  162 

Shingles,  how  to  lay,              .            .            .            .  .       18  37 

Siding,  how  to  nail  on,      .....             22  40 

Slitting  table,  with  cut,          .....     689  441 

Soles,  for  tile,        ......          413  301 

Sowing  grain,  by  hand,          .            .;           .            .  .     492  351 

casting  it  all  one  way,       ....          498  352 

casting  it  both  ways,              „*           .            .  .    499  352 

by  stakes,  ......          501  353 

by  furrows  and  ridges,            .             .            .  .497  352 

important  considerations  about,                 .            .           603  354 


INDEX.  457 

PARAGRAPH.  PAGB. 

Sowing  grain  when  the  wind  blows,               .            .            .  504  354 

how  to  gauge  the  handfuls,            .             .             .  505  355 

how  to  sow  grass  seed,             ....  506  356 

thick  and  thin  seeding,       ....  508  356 

experiments  in,                         .             .             .             .  509  357 

the  most  proper  quantity  per  acre,            .            .  510  358 

seeding  with  drill,         .....  513  359 

most  proper  depth  to  cover,             .            .            .  614  359 

Spoon,  dirt,  with  cuts,             .         .,.    ....  318  235 

Spud,  with  cut,      ......  313  232 

.Squinting,  how  to  do  it,                      .             .             .             .  580  397 

Steel,  how  to  temper,        .....  534  372 

should  be  heated  with  charcoal,          .            .             .  535  373 

Stones,  how  to  break  with  fire,     ....  205  159 

tools,  for  handling,      .                          .             .             •  206  160 

oil-stones,               .             .             .             .             .  565  386 

Stone  walls,  with  cuts.           .             .             .             .            .187  147 

cobble  do.               .....  191  151 

how  to  quarry,             .             .             .             .             .  204  158 

windlass  for  loading,  with  cut,       .             .             .  208  161 

gate  post,  with  cut,     .             .             .             .             .  256  192 

how  to  lay  in  ditches,  with  cuts,    .             .             .  418  304 

Shovels,  with  cuts,      .             .            .            .             .             .323  243 

how  they  should  be  hung,             .             .             .  324  243 

how  to  shovel  with  ease,          ....  323  245 

care  of,       ......  325  246 

Stakes,  how  to  split,  &c.,       .             .             .             .             .63  60 

Stile  for  gate,  with  cut,     .....  240  179 

Spades,  with  cut,        ......  320  238 

well  and  ill  hung,                ....  320  238 1 

how  to  spade  with  skill,          .            .            .            .321  239 

importance  of,  care  of,  keep  bright,           .            .  322  240 

Spool  for  chalk  line,  ......  329  250 

Squares,  carpenter's  steel,             ....  690  443 

how  to  test  their  trueness,       ....  694  444 

graduated  of  different  lengths,       .            .            .  693  443 

strokes,  sliding  and  crushing,              .            .             .  543  377 

Swedge,  with  cut,             .....  635  419 

T. 

Templet,  with  two  cuts  of,     .            .            .            .            .  663  432 

Timber,  best  time  to  cut,              ....            61  59 


458  INDEX. 

PARAGBAFH.  PAGE. 

Umber,  treatment  oi,             .            .            .            .  62  59 

how  to  scarf,  with  cuts,     .             •            •            .  32  42 

cause  of  decay,            .            .            .            ,            .  33  42 

baswood,  % .             .             .             .             .             .  35  43 

how  to  cut  down,         .....  389  284 

how  to  saw  down,              ....  387  283 

Kyanizing  and  Burnettizing,  .  .  .  232  175 

Technicalities  in  plowing,  .  .  .  .  465  333 

with  relation  to  saws,  ,  '  .  .  .  602  406 

Tile,  how  manufactured,  .....  436  315 

signs  of  good,  .  .  .  .  437  315 

best  form  of  calibre,  ....  438  315 

branch  pieces  how  made,  ....  438  316 

how  to  lay,  in  a  ditch,  .  ..*  .  .  412  289 

horse-shoe,  how  to  lay,  .  .  .  .413  301 

boards  beneath,  bad  policy,  .  .  .  413  301 

how  many  per  rod,  cost  of,  .  .  .  .435  313 

Tools,  edge,            .            .            .            .            .            .527  369 

how  to  temper,            .....  532  371 

how  to  grind,         .....  548  381 

clamps  for  holding  when  grinding,      .            .            .  559  385 

most  proper  angle  to  grind,           .            .             .  561  386 

for  building  fence,         .            .            .            •            .  308  228 

rack  for  holding,     .....  310  230 

use  and  care  of,  .  .  '.  .  309  229 

u. 

Underdraining,      .            .                       .           .  *         .  895  287 

V. 

Velocity  of  saws,        .            .            .           .           .            .  680  437 

Vise,  how  to  make,          .            .            .            .            .521  366 

w. 

Wax  for  grafting,       .            .            .            .            .            .  305  226 

Watering-pools  for  stock,             ....  428  309 

Wedges,  with  four  cuts  of,     .             .            .             .            .  344  262 

for  quarrying  stone,           .            .            .            .  205  159 

best  form  of,     ......  347  264 

recoiling  of.  how  to  make  stick,     .             .             .  349  265 


INDEX.  459 


Windlass,  with  cut,  to  load  stone  with,          .  .     211  161 

Wheels,  gauge,  large  and  small,    ....  459  330 

two  on  one  plow,         .....     461  331 

Wire,  for  fence,     ......  139  117 

sizes  of  the  numbers,  with  cut,            .            .  .     141  117 

how  to  unite,  with  cut,     ....  142  118 

Itow  to  fasten  to  posts,            .            .            .  .     146  119 

how  to  anneal,        .....  140  117 

causes  of  failure  in  wire  fence,             .            .  .     136  115 

to  bend  into  loops  for  fence,  with  cut,       .            .  176  138 

how  to  strain,  with  strainer,    .             .             .  .     154  124 

contraction  and  dilation  of,  per  foot,          .             .  154  124 

stay  wires,       ......     157  125 

section  of  wire  fence,  cut  of,           .            .            .  161  127 

Lowell  wire  fencing,  with  cut  of  bale,             .  .     163  128 

manner  of  weaving  the  wires,  with  cut,     .             .  166  129 

Walls,  stone,  with  cuts  of  section,                   .            .  .     187  147 

properly  and  improperly  laid,          .             .             .  187  147 

how  to  lay  the  stone  of,           .            ,            .  .     188  148 

cobble-stone  walls,              .                        .            .  191  151 

half  wall,         .            .>           .            .            .  .198  156 

built  of  quarried  stone,       .             .            .             .  201  156 

why  they  fall  down,                 ....     187  148 

Hon.  A.  B.  Conger's,          ...»  203  157 

hoA%  to  have  good,  in  a  house,              .             .  .37  44 

Water  lime  cellars,            ...             .             .             .  13  34 

Work-bench,  with  cut  of,        .  .     522  367 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 
or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
Bldg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 
2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 

(415)642-6233 
1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing  books 

to  NRLF 
Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4  days 

prior  to  due  date 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


DUE  NRLF  OCT3 


369503 

SU99 
Todd,  S.E.  T62 

The  young  farmer's 
manual . 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF   CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


